Weather politics is local politics distilled to its purest form.
Local politicians take credit or get blamed for things outside of their control all the time, from crime rates to economic conditions to state- or federally-funded infrastructure projects.
Weather – a literal force of nature – is no different. The things that can impact a municipality’s response to weather may be the result of decisions made decades ago and/or miles away: lack of plows or staff, poorly-maintained infrastructure, ever-larger SUVs hampering road clearing. No one crafting a budget in May and June is planning for a record-breaking, historic storm in the winter, not when there are more pressing demands for scant public funds such as our underfunded schools or our crumbling sewer system with its Civil War-era pipes.
It’s tempting, then, to cut politicians some slack when a historic blizzard hits soon after a prior massive snowstorm. Unable to see the full scale of snow-clearing efforts and largely limited to a ground-eye view, most residents are probably ill-positioned to be able to judge storm response beyond how it impacts them directly. So whether a politician is judged to have performed adequately in such an event may be more a reflection of one’s pre-existing feelings about that politician, and whatever media narrative can be crafted in the aftermath.
Some of that is flash: in Providence, both mayoral candidates have posted videos of themselves shoveling snow. (Both were one-upped by Warwick’s mayor actually operating a plow.) This is certainly a comforting image, but it’s probably not the best use of time. Context matters too. Footage of Mayor Brett Smiley digging out a USPS truck trapped on Providence streets got a less positive reception than New York City’s Zohran Mamdani doing something similar, in part because the former posted it himself, which came across as less authentic.
But what politicians did isn’t what comforted me during Providence’s past two storms; it was the revelation that we can put our trust in the people. When our local government failed, when its resources were overstretched, regular people stepped up. All across our city, people organized volunteer shoveling brigades, cyclists and pedestrians cleared bike paths and bridges while city and state officials squabbled over whose responsibility it was. Others used their snowblowers to clear their streets when plows failed to make an appearance for days. People even dug out trapped emergency responders.
These actions from my neighbors reminded me that we can do so much outside the traditional confines of government. Self-governance is more than writing to our elected officials and voting every two to four years.
When we look around America today, we so often see the inability of state and local government to protect people from the unthinkable. Here in Providence, the actions of those who organized and took matters into their hands offered a valuable lesson. While we shouldn’t cease to expect the best from our politicians, when disaster strikes and government fails, it’s our neighbors we should look to for help and hope.
Sam Howard is a unionist, data analyst, and former communications professional. He occasionally comments on RI politics via an infrequently-updated blog on RILiberator.com. He was born, raised, and lives in Providence, with his family (his wonderful wife, their 17-month-old son, and their elderly lazy dog).
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