City covernance related research:
The relative efficiency of city manager an mayor-counsil forms of goverment
Constraints on administrator discretion
Zero tolerance: a case study of police policies and practices in New York City
Governing the ungovernable city: Polictical skill, leadership and the modern mayor
Bertha Knight Landes of Seattle: Big City Mayor
The Evolution of E-Goverment among Municipalities: Rhetoric or Reality?
Funny links related to the topic can be found here.