In 1979, my then-hometown of Chicago was hit by a major blizzard. The city of Chicago, the state of Illinois Department of Transportation, and the Regional Transportation Authority all failed and collapsed simultaneously. It took months for the city to recover.
Although Chicago Mayor Mike Bilandic was only responsible for the city’s poor performance, people blamed him for everything.
This precipitated the failure of the mighty Democratic machine of Chicago. He lost the next election to the non-machine candidate Jane Byrne.
In the long run, the residents of Illinois benefited from his embarrassing loss, because every politician in the state now makes snow removal and safe roads a top priority.
At this point, I’m not sure what Mayor Dave Bronson can possibly do to redeem himself in the eyes of the residents of Anchorage, but if he doesn’t do something, he’s going to be humiliated in the polls come April.
— John DuBois
Anchorage
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