Structural Attachments and Political Support in Urban Politics: The Case of Fluoridation Referendums

Abstract

The hypothesis is set forth that the adoption or rejection of fluoridation referendums, as well as the degree of unanimity, is a function of the structural integration of the community. More specifically, it is a function of the attachments of community members to their power elites and of the interconnectedness between members. Using 262 communities as units of analysis, several indicators of the independent variable are obtained from census data. The attachment proposition is generally substantiated, although some refinements that take into account varying types of community power structures have to be introduced.