Several political pundits and editorial pages across the Commonwealth used the recent statewide judicial election results to pronounce the “death” of legislative and political reform in Pennsylvania. Not only do I believe that reform’s death has been announced prematurely, but those of us committed can not allow it to be true.
Every election is, by definition, a referendum on reform in some way. But when the measure of the reform movement’s success is a bar that never should have been set – the defeat of even the most qualified statewide judicial candidate up for retention – it confuses what can only be described as an unworthy and unwise publicity stunt with true reform.
Reform is continuing in Harrisburg. To date we have passed more than 30 reforms in the House to make more openness and transparency in the process. Next week we will continue our debate on the state’s open records law. Coming up are serious conversations on campaign finance reform and reducing the cost of government — two proposals that I authored. Put in perspective of the lack of reform in the last 30 years, reform today is moving at a quick pace, but we must accomplish a lot more.
With the real impact reformers have had on elections over the last few years, lawmakers in Harrisburg are not trying to read the tea leaves of past elections to look for permission to stop working for reform. The men and women I’m working with every day on reform are committed to the cause. We cannot and will not let cynical observers dissuade us from doing what is right.
The only people who are saying reform is dead are the people who never wanted reform in the first place. I do not accept their jaundiced assessment and neither should anyone else.
Reform was DOA on 01/02/07
Rep. Shapiro,
No one defined reform by denying retention to all seated judges except Russ Diamond.
That drivel you call reform is insulting to the voters of PA. The minor admninistrative rules changes amount to having a thief say that he will not steal again, at least not the same way. Honesty and openess of government is not a GIFT! It is an obligation. Don’t make it sound like you should get credit for fixing the worst sunshine laws in the U.S.. Fix it and then do something of value like enacting a Constitutional Convention, or term limits, or tort reform or spending limits or eliminating property tax. We don’t want “serious conversations”. WE WANT SERIOUS REFORM!!!!
NO MEANINGFUL REFORMS HAVE EVEN BEEN CONSIDERED BY THE HOUSE. O’Brien’s Reform Committee was a sham… a joke, a disgrace as is the record of this General Assembly. You people did not even honestly consider outlwing lame duck sessions which most states enacted years ago. I hope we can dump 55 more of the worst offenders and try again to have some much needed reforms in this State.
And in the midst of this do-nothing record, the chronology of shame grows every month with bonuses and cover-ups, and unethical and even criminal behavior by our elected and appointed officials. The state of our goverment in Harrisburg is absolutely pathetic.
Stan Alekna
appellate court reform
Does anyone know why the several bills for merit selection and appellate courts never got passed? Who is against it? Why does it fail?
There is No Reform
How can we say reform is dead when there has been no meaningful reforms? If reform is dead, so is Pennsylvania at the hands of its own self-serving government employees.
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