"In 1969, New York mayor John Lindsay—like Gavin Newsom, a young and attractive liberal who dreamed of the presidency—saw his political career effectively end when a blizzard dropped 15 inches of snow on the city. Streets went unplowed for days, leaving the city paralyzed. Lindsay’s White House dreams ended then and there, amid heckles from his constituents. He’d lost his focus on the basics.

None of Lindsay’s successors ever let such a weather disaster occur again. Big Apple politicians had learned a lesson. Now it’s the California political class’s turn."