Resume

• 1996

  PhD

  Political Science

• 1987

  BA

  Political Science

  Pi Sigma Alpha

  Honors Program

  College Scholar

  Student Advocates for Education (SAFE)

• Creator/Programmer of \"Nighthawks at the Diner\" every Wednesday from 11pm to 1am.

  KEOS 89.1 FM

  College Station/Bryan

  TX

  E-Learning

  Legal Research

  Public Speaking

  Government

  Teaching

  Political Science

  Public Policy

  Nonprofits

  SPSS

  Social Media

  Politics

  Statistics

  Policy Analysis

  Courses

  Leadership

  Higher Education

  Research

  Qualitative Research

  The Circus is in Town: Congressional Hearings as a Side-Show Spectacle

  As part of a series on \"great debates\" in American politics

  this essay argues that congressional hearings have become a wasteful exercise in political theater

  rather than a genuine tool for governmental oversight.

  The Circus is in Town: Congressional Hearings as a Side-Show Spectacle

  Book review of Agenda Crossover

  by Sarah Treul: \"The theory of “agenda crossover” represents a significant contribution to our understanding of legislative politics

  and calls our attention to the generally overlooked importance of state delegations on legislative behavior. Agenda crossover occurs when re-election-minded legislators look to members of their state delegation in the other chamber for policy ideas to use in their own bill sponsorship activity. Treul does not discount the tremendous importance of party influence on the behavior of individual legislators; however

  she persuasively demonstrates that strategic

  re-election-minded members of Congress are significantly influenced by fellow members of their state delegation

  even

  in some cases

  those of the opposite party.\"

  Treul

  Sarah A. Agenda Crossover: The Influence of State Delegations in Congress [Book Review]

  Who published the one book on government in 2013 that conservative firebrand Newt Gingrich told all true believers that they should read? Well

  the author is now lieutenant governor of California. Before that

  he was mayor of San Francisco. That’s right: It’s Gavin Newsom ’89.

  Welcome to Citizenville

  Terri Peretti

  Widespread public mistrust of legislative redistricting begs the question: Can (presumably) neutral and independent courts produce more competitive districts that preserve the integrity of the democratic process? The regime politics perspective suggests not

  portraying courts as partisan collaborators whose rulings help their regime allies in the other branches. Conversely

  recent congressional elections research suggests that non-legislative approaches to redistricting (such as independent commissions) encourage experienced candidates to mount serious electoral challenges to incumbents. We extend this literature by focusing on the impact of judicial participation in the redistricting process. Using data for the 2000 apportionment cycle

  we test whether judicial redistricting enhances the competitiveness of congressional elections

  as some studies suggest

  or if it instead serves to promote the interests of the party with which the judge is affiliated

  as the regime politics literature would lead us to believe. Our findings suggest that judicial redistricting does enhance competition in congressional elections

  but we fail to find evidence that it confers any partisan advantage.

  Gerrymandering from the Bench? The Electoral Consequences of Judicial Redistricting

  Growing concern over gerrymandering has led some states to transfer redistricting responsibility from legislatures to commissions

  boards

  or other less overtly partisan bodies. These transfers in redistricting responsibility offer scholars an opportunity to study the impact of redistricting processes on elections. This study

  focusing on congressional elections for the years 1982–2008

  suggests that non-legislative methods of redistricting encouraged strong

  well-financed challengers to step forward

  and decreased the likelihood that incumbents would run unopposed. The data

  however

  do not show that non-legislative redistricting either reduced the typical margins of incumbents’ victories or increased the likelihood that incumbents would lose. In fact

  the data sometimes run contrary to expectations. This raises questions about the common contention (especially by reformers) that non-legislative approaches (NLA) will promote turnover of elected officials. The benefits of non-legislative redistricting depend both on the types of outcomes that are desired

  and on the specific NLA that is adopted.

  The Effects of Non-Legislative Approaches to Redistricting on Competition in Congressional Elections

  Shoua Yang

  Steven Wagner

  Shawn Schooley

  Forty-two years ago

  two Minnesota political scientists concluded that “too little has been written and regularly published about the whys and ways of Minnesota’s political processes” (Gieske and Brandt 1977). The result of that conclusion was the preparation of Perspectives on Minnesota Government and Politics published in 1977. The original editors

  Professors Gieske and Brandt

  brought together political scientists across Minnesota and teaching at many college and university campuses to write about and explain the structure and institutions of Minnesota government

  the input channels of Minnesota government and politics

  and selected public policies in Minnesota. Over the years the editors changed

  as did authors of the chapters. Two constants always existed: the texts informed college students in Minnesota about the workings of Minnesota government and politics and the text was on printed paper.\n\nToday

  Professors James Cottrill

  Shawn Schooley

  Steven Wagner

  and Shoua Yang have produced and presented to you a new and much-changed version of the original text. The editors see this text as a fresh start and have named the text

  Minnesota Government and Politics. Consistent with our modern times

  the text is now electronic. Reaching back to the old days

  the new text is committed to inform Minnesota college students about the whys and ways of the Minnesota government and politics. That said

  the first section of the text focuses on the Minnesota Constitution

  Legislature

  Governor

  Bureaucracy

  and Local Governments. The second section offers readers insights into various “input channels” of Minnesota Politics

  including chapters on public opinion

  minority politics

  campaign finance

  rural politics

  and women in politics. The third section focuses on public policies in Minnesota and includes discussion of public safety

  emergency management

  healthcare

  the environment

  and budgeting and taxation.

  Minnesota Government and Politics

  Terri Peretti

  A sizable literature has explored the growth of partisan polarization in Congress and its impact on legislative behavior. Using this lens

  we provide empirical analysis of the role of parties in more than seven decades of Supreme Court confirmation voting and offer several original findings. First

  we offer new evidence that the strength of the president’s party in the state’s electorate has significantly and increasingly affected senators’ votes. We also find that

  since the mid-1980s

  partisanship and ideology have become dominant influences in confirmation voting

  while nominee qualifications and presidential strength have declined in importance. Finally

  our evidence shows that polarization has more strongly affected opposite-party senators and Republican senators

  who have become much more inclined to unite against the judicial nominees of presidents belonging to the other party. We hope these findings contribute to a much-needed dialogue between the judicial politics and congressional behavior literatures and encourage a stronger scholarly focus on interbranch partisan strategies.

  The Partisan Dynamics of Supreme Court Confirmation Voting

  As part of a series on \"great debates\" in American politics

  this essay makes a case for the position that \"executive orders are unconstitutional.\"

  Unchecked Ambition: The Unconstitutional Nature of Executive Orders

  Jim

  Santa Clara University

  Texas A&M University

  St Cloud State University Survey Research Center

  St. Cloud State University

  Teaching and research on American political institutions and processes.

  Texas A&M University

  Assistant Professor

  Teaching and research on American political institutions and processes

  and media commentary on American politics.

  Santa Clara University

  Lecturer

  Teaching and research on American political institutions and processes

  and media commentary on American politics.

  Santa Clara University

  St. Cloud State University

  St. Cloud

  Minnesota Area

  Associate Professor

  St. Cloud

  Minnesota Area

  Teaching and research on American political institutions and processes.

  Assistant Professor

  St. Cloud State University

  101 Stewart Hall

  Public opinion data collection and analysis for university

  state government

  and non-profit clients; Training of students in computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) technology and survey research methodology; Training of student directors in question development and analysis of opinion data.

  Faculty Co-Director

  St Cloud State University Survey Research Center

  American Political Science Association