Storm Duty
Gov. Dannel Malloy
Photo by Steve Kotchko
Posted 9/6/11
The lyrics of the classic American folk/pop song “Goodnight Irene” declare: “You cause me to weep, you cause me to mourn, you cause me to leave my home…Goodnight Irene, I’ll see you in my dreams.” Or maybe nightmares. The words seem appropriate for thousands of Connecticut and other New England residents forced to live through a weekend of dread from Irene, the biggest tropical storm system to strike the region in decades.
When disaster strikes, the worlds of emergency management and politics collide as the citizenry expects their elected and appointed leaders to help them get back to normal. Weather has been a factor in Connecticut politics in the past. Republican Gov. Thomas Meskill was out of state on a family skiing trip when a major ice storm crippled the state. In the minds of many voters, he didn’t get back fast enough to lead the recovery effort. His popularity melted along with the ice, and Meskill chose not to seek reelection.
Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy needs to lectures on the political perils of bad weather. In his first few days in office earlier this year, Malloy had to face one of the biggest snowstorms to hit Connecticut in years. Being a workaholic anyway, Malloy needed no nudges to take the reins of power. He held numerous emergency management meetings and news conferences, at one point advising Connecticut residents to stay safe at home, and make Campbell’s soup.
So when Hurricane (later Tropical Storm) Irene pointed itself at Connecticut, Malloy urged people to use the advanced storm warning period to prepare by fueling their vehicles, stocking up on water and non-perishable foods, and staying off the highways as the big storm bore down. The Governor was candid in saying anyone who waited until the last minute would be frustrated in getting the supplies they needed.
He also was firm in urging residents in normally flood-prone areas on the shoreline and inland to leave their homes and go somewhere safer on their own volition, or if asked to evacuate by local officials. Malloy bluntly warned that towns and the state were not going to risk the lives of emergency workers attempting to rescue someone at the height of the storm who wanted to “ride it out” after being repeatedly warned of the danger.
After Irene blew through, restoration of electricity service for hundreds of thousands of customers became paramount. Viewing shoreline property damage in Old Saybrook, Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman was asked what is the number one issue? She responded: “Power, power, power. I can understand that. I don’t have power either, so it’s time to get people’s power going again.”
When electricity is gone, the fabric of everyday life in modern America unravels quickly. The food in the well-stocked suburban fridge goes bad. You can’t make the morning coffee, and you can’t even buy the morning coffee if the Dunkin Donuts in your town also has no power. You can’t walk around your home in the evening without a flashlight or candle, and depending on your appliances and services you can’t cook, take a hot shower…or maybe even properly flush the toilet.
Malloy was smart enough to realize that as governor he’s responsible for the roads, the state parks, public safety, and many other vital services—but when it comes to getting electricity turned on again—that’s the province of the major electric companies, CL&P and UI.
The Governor insisted key officials from those utilities, who were part of behind-the-scenes emergency management sessions at the State Armory, step before the cameras and microphones with him to answer reporters’ questions.
Their first go-round was not pretty. Asked if the companies were taking unionized crews off assignments to save on overtime, asked if it’s true the total number of in-state line crews has steadily shrunk over the years to save money, and asked about complaints from local officials that the utilities were doing a poor job coordinating with town crews on removal of fallen trees and power lines, the utility officials response was pretty much “hummina, hummina, hummina.”
After that semi-debacle at Malloy’s newser, the guv reportedly told aides: “Fix that.” Translation: Read those guys the riot act and make sure they have real answers in the future.
At the Governor’s next news conference, utility officials adopted the Bill Clinton “I feel your pain” persona, and did offer more details about efforts to beef up the number of line crews working to restore power, and provided candid estimates of when the whole job might be done.
Malloy also was pressuring FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other Obama administration officials to cajole other states into sending line crews to assist in Connecticut. Appearing on the MSNBC cable show “Morning Joe”, Malloy appealed to the national audience. “Anybody who is seeing this from another state who has crews they could lend our state, we would very much appreciate it—our utilities will hire them,” he pleaded.
FEMA is hurting financially from numerous disasters in the U.S. this year, and coping with stinginess from Congress in getting added funding. Knowing all that, Malloy said he expected FEMA to honestly assess damage to state and local infrastructure, taking into the account the higher costs for everything in Connecticut.
“I have fully explained to FEMA that this is Connecticut, not Kansas, we have our own conditions here,” the Governor said. “Real estate values are so high literally no one is mortgage-free and almost every mortgage requires insurance.”
When all is said and done on Irene, Malloy’s performance may be criticized by some and praised by others in political pronouncements and newspaper editorials, but no one can say he was not engaged. Having a wonk for Governor who thrives on crisis management, dealing with government officials at all levels, and getting out in front of the media is a plus for Connecticut.