During a two-week period last December, seven separate storms blanketed Seattle under more than nine inches of snow, shutting down the city. Major roads stayed buried for days while snowplows sat idle, icy roads went unsalted (even though, as a Seattle Times investigation later revealed, the city had stockpiles of salt), and dozens of bus routes were canceled. Meanwhile, Mayor Greg Nickels, despite evidence to the contrary, pronounced major streets driveable and awarded his agencies a “B” for the way they handled the catastrophe.

Can Nickels slide by with such a flaky snow response come November? A survey of storms in other cities reveals that mayoral malfeasance in the midst of a meteorological maelstrom can have deleterious electoral effects: Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic blew his blizzard performance in January 1979 and was defeated two months later by Jane Byrne in the primary. And Denver’s 45 snowplows were no match for the 1982 Christmas Eve storm; the following May a political rookie unseated William McNichols Jr., mayor since 1968. So considering that under his auspices Seattle streets looked like ski runs at Whistler, Nickels has reason to worry.

More incriminating: The Times investigation also revealed that crews rushed to plow West Seattle, where Nickels, deputy mayor Tim Ceis, and city transportation director Grace Crunican live, and the roads that lead from their homes to their downtown offices. Which would explain why Ceis told snow crews their response was “magnificent.”