The Peculiar Politics of Snow in St. Louis
Winter weather has arrived in St. Louis, and social media indicates that the snow has brought out memories of last year’s ice storm and the primal scream of voter dissatisfaction that followed. Mayor Spencer administration even signed an executive order outlining a new, military-sounding Winter Weather Unified Command. Conversely, some folks on my social media feed appeared to hope that city services would fail to rise to the occasion, proving the weather to lie beyond any mayor’s control. It highlighted the still-raw emotions leftover from this year’s mayoral election and the role that winter played in the race.
Last year’s ice storm has been credited as a decisive moment in former mayor Tishaura Jones’ tenure. While blaming her loss on the storm would be a gross oversimplification, it was a turning point in her reelection campaign. It was an intense storm, and temperatures stayed stubbornly below freezing, leaving much of the city encapsulated in ice for days. While the city has not generally cleared residential streets following major winter storms, many voters, primarily white ones in south St. Louis, took to social media with their complaints. They were joined by non-white residents and folks in other parts of town, so it wasn’t a solely southside or white phenomenon. For days after the ice’s arrival, posts and videos about the dangerous condition of many roads, alleys, and sidewalks were seemingly ubiquitous on various platforms. It dovetailed neatly into then-candidate Cara Spencer’s campaign theme of “a city that works.” Soon, local media outlets joined the chorus of dissatisfaction, further amplifying the message that the Jones administration had dropped the ball. Given that the city had not usually cleared residential streets in past administrations, Jones’ backers felt as though she was being wronged by unfair coverage. While they had a point, the Jones administration would soon shift gears and announce that city trucks would begin clearing side streets.
For many of my friends and neighbors who were angry about the slow pace of ice clearance, the episode provided a chance to express their dissatisfaction with city services that seemed to be in steady decline. The ice was a symbol that helped them express a more generalized dissatisfaction. On my block, where trash service had become truly dreadful, the snow and ice were an embodiment of a generalized decline in city operations that seemed to stretch back many years. City trash service began declining towards the end of former mayor Francis Slay’s final term, due to a failure to order new trash trucks needed to keep the city’s fleet operational. By 2024, long after later mayors had ordered new trucks, our alley’s dumpsters were still not being picked up on anything resembling a regular schedule. I know that we were not alone in this. At the same time, voters were regularly reading stories about all of the money the city had collected from federal pandemic stimulus and the city’s successful lawsuit against the Rams. The contrast between being told that the city was flush with cash, while basic operations floundered, was stark. Mayor Spencer’s campaign focused on this disconnect, and her partisans pounced on the opportunity provided by severe winter weather.
Fast forward to this past weekend’s snowstorm, and it was clear that the emotional scars left behind by last year’s ice were still raw. A number of my friends who supported the former mayor seemed almost excited by the potential of city services once again failing in the face of winter weather. It wasn’t a large number of individuals, but it was enough to show that the wounds of the recent election were still open for many. The coming storm seemed to offer a sense that vindication might be at hand. When the relatively mild storm passed without a major service failure, some seemed disappointed that Mother Nature hadn’t provided karmic retribution on Mayor Spencer. Again, not many people, but enough to show that it wasn’t just a single, embittered individual. It shows that the emotional damage from the most recent mayoral contest goes quite deep. It also shows that the snow retains its symbolic power in our local politics.
PS – I would like to thank the real heroes: the city employees who worked through the snow, rain, and cold. While social and traditional media focus attention on elected officials, they are not the people actually doing the hard work. That is done by people whose names won’t be found on the ballot. Please know that you are appreciated.
