“This tornado is going to win Sarno the election,” someone said to me the other day.
As history shows, disasters—natural and man-made—often favor the incumbent. Consider, for instance, then-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s meteoric rise in popularity in response to his handling of the Sept. 11 attacks on his city: Six weeks after the Twin Towers went down, he was posting a 79 percent public approval rating, compared to the 36 percent he’d won a year earlier. That burst of popularity didn’t mean a thing for Guiliani the next Election Day—term limits meant the three-term mayor couldn’t run again—nor did it linger into 2008, when he ran to be the Republican’s presidential nominee but dropped out after a poor showing in early primaries. But for a time, Guiliani’s leadership in the aftermath of 9/11 made him a national, and international celebrity, and a political force to be reckoned with.
In the five days since large portions of Springfield were wiped out by a tornado, Mayor Domenic Sarno, too, has won much praise for his leadership. He’s been visiting devastated neighborhoods (sometimes with outside government officials, including the governor, our two senators and congressman; sometimes with City Hall staffers), attending community meetings, holding press conferences with updates on recovery efforts and support services for residents. And he’s vowed to get the city back on its feet, whatever the cost.
Things haven’t gone completely smoothly in the days since the tornado; really, how could they? Among the concerns recently bubbling to the surface: that a rush to demolish could mean some salvageable buildings will be leveled unnecessarily. But overall, the reports have been hearteningly positive: of neighbors and strangers helping one another out; of community groups stepping up with supplies and other aid; of police officers and fire fighters and other emergency workers responding quickly and compassionately. And of a mayor stepping up, in exactly the way he should.
To be clear: I am not suggesting that Sarno is exploiting the political opportunities this crisis might present, or is in any way enjoying the spotlight the tornado has thrust upon him and his city. It’s worth noting that, in addition being the city’s chief executive, Sarno is also a proud Springfield native who is no doubt experiencing the same sense of shock and dismay as everyone else; he’s seen significant damage in his neighborhood and at his kids’ schools, as well as at the South End Community Center, which he led before becoming mayor.
I think the mayor’s handling of the crisis has shown him at his best, and drawn on what has always been his strength as a politician, going back to his days as a city councilor: his ability to connect with people on a personal level, and to express the deep commitment to the city where his immigrant parents raised him.
Sarno is often teased for being a glad-hander, accused of being prone to over-the-top schmooziness. But these days, it seems, many residents appreciate that extended hand—even if some of them can’t resist a quick bite.
“Sarno did a good job!” one anonymous poster wrote over the weekend on MassLive’s Springfield forum. “I must admit that although I HATE Domenic Sarno, that he DID do a great job at getting things organized and put into place.”
