This study examines both the urban and rural contexts to determine how context influences the attitudes and perceptions of local officials concerning their participation in the governance of their communities. James Svara’s dichotomy/duality model is used to assess and compare the attitudes and perceptions of a total of ninety-three elected and administrative officials from urban and rural localities located within Virginia.

The research indicates that urban elected officials Share attitudes and perceptions that lead to patterns of activity similar to those described in Svara’s dichotomy/duality model. However, rural elected officials share a set of attitudes and beliefs that is markedly different from their urban counterparts. Rural elected officials indicate higher levels of activity in administration and management than did their urban counterparts. Urban and rural administrative officials are characterized by similar perceptions that lead to relatively high levels of activity.

The differences in attitudes and perceptions attributable to context in combination with other factors demonstrate the need for both descriptive and normative guides that are sensitive to context. This study proposes a new normative guide for rural officials. This new source of normative guidance promotes the concept and principles of "democratic leadership." This new normative guide directs the rural official to participate in the governance process in such a way as to encourage citizen participation and followership. By encouraging active participation of all interested groups, this new normative guide establishes a means for renewing the publics’ trust in government through its increased involvement in the creation of a truly "public" policy.