ST. LOUIS — Mayor Tishaura O. Jones on Monday publicly apologized for her administration’s response to the snowstorm this month, saying it failed to quickly grasp the severity of the situation and solve the problems.
“I am sorry that our city services did not meet the mark through our winter storm,†she said. “I am sorry that it took us too long to respond.â€
“But I want to let you know that that’s part of being in government,†she continued. “I hear you, we hear you, and we are taking the steps to make this better.â€
The apology, made to residents at a mayoral candidate forum in the Southwest Garden neighborhood, was a remarkable retreat from previous comments made before it became so clear that the city’s response had devolved into a slushy mess that could threaten the mayor’s re-election this spring.
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When snow first fell on Jan. 5 and 6, dropping 5 to 8 inches on the city, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ appeared prepared. By Jan. 7, a city spokesman was reporting that nearly all of the city’s designated snow plow routes had been cleared.
By Jan. 13, the mayor was on public radio grading the effort a B-minus: The city didn’t have enough drivers to helm all the plows, and lacked equipment needed to address side streets. “But once you hit the main thoroughfares,†Jones said, “it’s smooth sailing.â€
As she spoke, stubborn cold was keeping ice plastered across city streets. Hours later, an alderman called for a hearing on the response, saying the roads that were supposed to be addressed in his ward hadn’t been touched. And for the rest of the week, aldermen and residents vented that city crews weren’t properly plowing snow routes, salting some of the steeper streets that dot the South Side, or salting side streets that had become ice rinks treacherous for elderly residents and schoolchildren.
Jones and other officials acknowledged they needed to do more. They started salting the side streets, which in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ are traditionally left to melt on their own, and then hired private companies to bolster efforts.
But in social media posts announcing the moves, Jones also framed the problems as beyond the city’s control: She said ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ usually has mild winters. She said the stubborn cold that froze the streets is rare.
Only the mayor’s spokesman, Conner Kerrigan, explicitly acknowledged any failure. And when he did, he did so in a solo press conference, while Jones was at a conference in Washington, D.C., and the Streets Department director was unavailable.
Last week, as the city continued work to de-ice streets, the mayor changed that B-minus grade to “incomplete,†though she also called the snow storm “unprecedented.â€
But on Monday, she dropped the pushback.
“We are learning from our mistakes,†Jones said, “because any accountable leader will learn from their mistakes, and do better next time.â€
