Many a political career has been buried by the fluffy white stuff and complaints from constituents who expect leaders to clear their streets and keep their buses running.
Now that the Seattle area is at last leaving behind a series of historic snowstorms, it’s time to reflect on how local government responded to the unusual weather.
Many a political career has been buried by the fluffy white stuff and complaints from constituents who expect leaders to clear their streets and keep their buses running.
Greg Nickels was unseated as Seattle mayor in 2009 after critics slammed his administration for unplowed roads and other problems during a winter storm.
This time around, record snow nearly shut down Seattle, as schools and many offices closed.
At least one person died from exposure in Seattle and at least two died elsewhere in King County, but a city team brought many dozens of people out of the cold into emergency shelters.
Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency and King County Metro activated its emergency-snow service, operating only 60 core routes for a number of days.
Mayor Jenny Durkan’s transportation department deployed 36 trucks to clear snow and ice, City Light worked through the cold as thousands of Seattle residents dealt with power outages and waste pickups were delayed because of the difficult conditions.
Nickels made headlines a decade ago when he gave his administration’s much-maligned response a ‘B’ grade. What grades would you dole out this time?
We may use your responses in a future story.