Rose Institute of State and Local Government

On April 24 and 25, CMC’s Summit explored how to prepare leaders for the future. Rose Institute Research Assistants Deborah Aguirre ‘28 and Rhiannon Worline ‘28 were on hand to speak with attendees about some of the Rose Institute’s major projects.

On April 24-25, Rose Institute RAs attended the Midwest Political Science Association conference. Professor Andrew Sinclair, Joan Hanson SC’26, and Chad McElroy ’26 presented on election administration. Justin Levitt and Aria Fafat ’27 presented on district vs at-large elections.

On April 22, Rose Institute RA Deborah Aguirre ’28 attended the Policy Insights Conference in Sacramento hosted by the California Budget and Policy Center. Deborah networked with a wide range of conference participants, and even bumped into Claremont Mayor Jennifer Stark.

The Olson Company and former Gov. Gray Davis hosted a housing policy discussion with LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, co-sponsored by the Rose Institute. Director Ken Miller and student RAs Kevin Bender, Jathan Pai, and Shivum Kalyanum participated in the discussion.

In her new book, Raising the Floor: Federalism and the Politics of U.S. Minimum Wage Policy, Rose Institute Associate Director Shanna Rose examines how interest groups have navigated the American political system shaping the development of minimum wage laws over the past century.

On March 18, the Rose Institute presented its Measure G research to the San Gabriel Valley City Managers’ Association led by Professor Ken Miller and Senior Advisor Abhi Nemani. The project is funded by a generous grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation.

The Rose Institute thanks this year’s student managers, Chad McElroy ’26 and Joan Hanson ’26, for their excellent work over the past year. Their contributions are greatly appreciated, and they will be missed.

Aria Fafat, a PPE major from Singapore, has conducted research at the Institute on criminal justice, election systems, and immigration. Kevin Bender, an Economics major from Temecula, California, has worked on the Institute's data team, contributing to economic policy research.

Congratulations to our new student managers for the 2026–2027 academic year, Aria Fafat and Kevin Bender!

Rose Institute Board Members Deborah Gonzalez '85 and Eric Figueroa '92 visited the Rose on Friday, February 27th, to share their experiences in local budget policy. Thank you to our speakers and to Jada Cook ’26 and Professor Rose for organizing the budget policy workshops.

The Rose Institute of State and Local Government with the California City Management Foundation, presented the 2025 California City Manager Survey at the League of California Cities. Assistant Director Bipasa Nadon presented the findings. roseinstitute.cmc.edu/rose-institute…

Rose Institute board members Scott Ochoa ‘93 and Christopher Townsend ‘82 visited the Rose Institute to share their experiences in budget policy. Thank you to our speakers and to Jada Cook ’26 and Professor Rose for organizing this series of budget policy workshops.

A recent article by Professor Andrew Sinclair and Rose Institute alums analyzes election cycles before and after the implementation of California’s top-two primary system to assess its impact on participation and competition. doi.org/10.1017/spq.20…

A new book published in January 2026 features a chapter by Professor Michael Fortner and former Rose Institute Student Manager Cameron Stevens ’23 examining the roots of mass incarceration in the United States. To read the full chapter, visit: doi.org/10.1093/978019…

The Rose Institute is excited to announce it received a generous grant from the Haynes Foundation to study implementation of LA County’s historic Measure G governance reforms. The Institute will be working with city managers to promote successful implementation of these reforms.

California’s transition to universal vote-by-mail has transformed election administration. A new report by Keith Maben finds that despite initial delays, counties are becoming more efficient through institutional learning, improving ballot-processing speed. Read at link in bio!

Join us at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum on11/14, for lunch with Henry Olsen ’83, one of the nation’s most insightful political analysts, for “Kings, Queens, and Jokers: American Political Trends for 2026 and Beyond." Sign up for the talk here: cmc.edu/athenaeum/king…

In her new role, she joins our Senior Staff, will supervise Rose Institute research projects, and help oversee student training programs. Please join us in welcoming Professor Rose!

A leading scholar of federalism and public policy, Professor Rose joined CMC in 2014 (tenured 2016), became founding director of the Public Policy major in 2019, and received the Roy P. Crocker Award for Service in 2021.

We’re delighted to announce that Professor Shanna Rose, the Alice Tweed Tuohy Professor of Management and Government and director of CMC’s Public Policy major, has been named Associate Director of the Rose Institute, effective immediately.