Blue state bungles put Democrats’ governing competency in question

Democrats nationwide are grappling with a crisis of incompetence as they face off against voters who feel the party’s leaders have forgotten how to deliver on the government’s fundamental responsibilities.

Raging wildfires in California have made Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass the subjects of derision.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams are underwater with residents who want just about anyone else to lead. In Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson is the latest Democrat to leave voters nonplussed with his weak responses to homelessness, immigration and crime.

Add President Biden’s national hiccups, and it’s a bad moment for Democrats, who have long positioned themselves as champions of the government’s ability to deliver solutions for average Americans.

“Democrats, in many ways, have essentially put the spotlight on themselves by advocating for higher taxes and a larger government role in society,” said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University. “So when they fail, in California, Chicago or New York, it is more noticeable and consequential because Democrats have been making the case that is the optimal model.”

Democrats are struggling to find a path forward and a leader to rally around after surrendering the Senate to Republicans and the White House to President-elect Donald Trump.

Democrats hold mayoral posts in 18 of the largest U.S. cities, and Republicans have a slight edge in governorships.

Mr. Johnson is the most unpopular mayor in Chicago’s history. City voters are questioning his competence after he struggled to deliver on a campaign promise to scrap a gunshot detection system that liberals cast as racist. Others concerned about crime were befuddled.

Chicago Public Schools have been gripped by chaos. Mr. Johnson broke his campaign promise not to seek a property tax hike, and the City Council unanimously rejected the proposal. He also is dogged by concerns over taxpayer funds spent on illegal immigrants.

“Now, you still feel like you have to harbor these illegals, which is not a good idea. Can you do the job, Mr. Brandon Johnson? It’s looking like you cannot do the job,” a resident told him at a council meeting last month.

Momentum is building behind a bill in the Illinois General Assembly that would allow the Chicago mayor to be recalled.

Meanwhile, Ms. Bass is facing recall chatter in Los Angeles, and Mr. Adams is scheduled to stand trial on corruption charges in April in New York.

Chicago has not had a Republican mayor since 1913. Los Angeles has not had a Republican mayor since 2001, and New York has not had a Republican mayor since 2007, when Michael R. Bloomberg switched his party affiliation to independent.

Mr. Bloomberg switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 2001 to run for mayor. He returned to the Democratic Party in 2018.

Jeanne Sheehan Zaino, a political scientist at Iona University, said local leaders are being tested and, in many cases, failing to grasp the fundamental problems of their constituents.

“This is a challenge for all public officials, and particularly today, we see Democratic officials in blue states who are falling short in this area,” she said.

Hank Sheinkopf, a New York-based Democratic strategist, said his party has to change.

“The last bastion of elitist Democratic Party thinking is in New York and Los Angeles,” Mr. Sheinkopf said. “New York Democrats are under attack by the center, and Los Angeles County and that whole portion of Southern California has the potential to flip into the Republican column.”

Democrats struggling to lead the nation’s three largest cities is not a good look.

Republicans say Democrats have let their ideology blind them, particularly on immigration and crime, where voters have recoiled over lenient policies.

“It’s about disorder,” Mr. Sheinkopf said. “So the sense that things are out of control is what destroys Democrats and tends to elect Republicans.”

He said the problem for Democrats in New York is they tried a liberal crusader in Bill de Blasio to deal with social issues and now a former police officer in Mr. Adams to deal with crime concerns.

“Neither has worked,” he said.

As destructive wildfires burn in California, Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, said the paper made a mistake by endorsing Ms. Bass in the 2021 mayoral election.

“Maybe the lesson we learned out of this catastrophe in California is to now vote not based on left or right or D versus R but perhaps based on competent or no experience in operating a job!!” Mr. Soon-Shiong said on social media. “We have to elect based on competence. … Yes competence matters.”

Mishandling disasters draws mockery, but it shouldn’t be a political death sentence.

Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott, a Republican, faced intense scrutiny in 2021 when the state’s power grid collapsed during severe winter storms and more than 240 people died.

Sen. Ted Cruz, a fellow Republican, drew particular scorn for jetting off to Cancun, Mexico, amid the chaos.

Both men have since won reelection in races that weren’t even close.

Mr. Jones said one difference is that Texas voters had someone else to blame.

“At the end of the day, the villains in Texas were the natural gas and electric companies with a side critique of the Texas GOP not engaging in significant regulation,” Mr. Jones said. “That is different from managing immigration, providing education, reducing crime levels or having fire departments and emergency services prepared for a predictable natural disaster.”

Mr. Jones said championing government as an answer to problems, even at a higher cost to taxpayers, undercuts one of the Democratic Party’s core arguments when big government doesn’t deliver.

“So you have the combination of high taxes but inefficiency and ineffectual government services,” he said.