The city manager’s role in policy-making has long been recognized in the public administrationliterature. However, it remains unclear why city managers participate in policy-making at different levels. Two alternative models have been proposed in the literature: the substitution model and the collaboration model. The present study considers multiple dimensions of political leadership and advances a more comprehensive theoretical framework. It then undertakes an empirical examination, using survey data collected from city managers in Georgia. The results uncover more complicated configurations of political dynamics in local government than described by either the substitution or the collaboration model.