In 1999, the Thai government enacted the Tambon Council and Tambon Administration Organization (TAO) Act (no.3) to empower local administration. Later, the Determining Plans and Process of Decentralization to Local Government Organization Act was adopted. This law updated policies on local government. This dissertation investigates the perception of public officials in three levels, small, medium, and large of Tambon Administration Organizations in Thailand regarding the effect of these Acts on local governance. In particular, effects of significant values identified from good governance principles: efficiency and effectiveness, fairness, citizen participation, responsiveness, accountability, and transparency are explored. The findings suggest that public officials viewed huge improvements in terms of overall good governance values. The new structure allows TAOs to have greater power and larger budgets to improve local infrastructure, service delivery, and citizens' well-being as never before. Citizens are given more opportunities to participate in the policy making process of TAOs through the use of village forums and oversight committee participation. TAOs are more responsive in terms of solving citizens' problems in a timelier manner. However, some traditional Thai values and practices, such as spoils and corruption practices, are still present even though there are improved mechanisms, such as oversight committees to improve the level of accountability and transparency. Overall, local governance in Thailand has taken a step in the right direction and the local administration should receive more support in the near future. The recent revolution in Thailand is expected to slow the development of local decentralization to some extent, but the long term impact remains to be seen.