Discussion Topic: Delegates & Trustees Delegate: "The role members of Congress serve in representing the interests and policy preferences of their constituents" (Zaino, 2012, p. 66) Trustee: "The role members of Congress serve in acting on behalf of the interests of the home constituents and nation regardless of whether constituents would immediately approve of the members' decisions" (Zaino, 2012, p. 66) An example of how these two perspectives (delegate and trustee) may conflict is when the legislator is asked to vote on the closing of a military base in his/her district where it may be good for overall society to minimize the expense of the base but in that legislator’s district it may cause the loss of jobs. A trustee may be more willing to close the base where a delegate would not. Most legislators try to balance the two types of representation.
The discussion question(s) is: If you were a legislator and had to decide whether to close the base or not, what would you decide? Are you acting more as a delegate or a trustee in making your decision? Explain your response in 175-200 words.