Slating Groups as Parties in a "Nonpartisan" Setting

Municipal reforms of this nature: nonpartisanship, smaller city councils, the replacement of mayors by city managers, may serve admirable technical purposes and in the long run be in the best interests of most groups in the community but they weaken the political ties of the disorganized and depressed groups in the community. And, in doing this, they serve a strong, but usually repressed, interest of the community "power elite," whose focus is ostensibly upon the gains in efficiency and honesty brought about by the reforms, but who profit from the political apathy of the underdog.