Politics: Springfield has a problem
I am stunned to read this report in the Springfield Journal-Register:
“Tough.†That was Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin’s response Sunday when pressed about why it took officials two hours Saturday to release information to the public about the power plant explosions and possible dangers to the community.
Tough? “It’s the best we could do. Tough,†Davlin reiterated.
Davlin and other officials had little information themselves early in the incident, they said, and their top priorities were quelling the power plant fire and making sure City Water, Light and Power workers and firefighters were safe.
” … their top priorities were quelling the power plant fire … ”
Turns out that the mayor was on a plane to London when the blast happened. It’s one thing to explain that there just wasn’t any information to officer the night the explosion happened, it’s quite another to just dismiss with semi-macho rhetoric. “Tough.” I predict that voters might have a similar response when Davlin asks voters when they turn him out of office in the next election.
We are talking about a city where residents thought a cloud of toxic gas was wafting through the city. How close did the city come to panic? No one died in this explosion, but what would have happened if people decided that they needed to get themselves and their families out of the city, no matter what.
And the stupid thing is that there was a similar lack of communication back when they held a mock disaster drill in 2005. In the post 9/11 world, there is no excuse for cities to NOT have working emergency plans, part of which is to keep the public informed about how to protect themselves, and to give them the information they need to NOT come to conclusions and panic.
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
Springfield has a problem?
Tough.