judgesonmerit.org

Like night follows day, scandals in Harrisburg are followed by cries for reform. This time, though, cries are coming from an unusual place: the governor’s office.

So begins an op-ed published in today’s Daily News. The piece recaps the Governor’s call for reform, which includes a change to merit selection of judges. What’s perhaps unusual about this opinion is its optimism. The editors acknowledge the public’s typical reaction to calls for reform, apathy, especially from a governor in his last year in office, but points out why this time things may be different:

[T]hese are not normal times. . . . In the past two years, more than two dozen people from both parties have been charged with fraud and corruption. That includes five current or former elected officials, three of whom held important leadership positions within the Legislature. Those allegations come on the heels [of] the 2005 pay-raise scandal, when lawmakers voted for an increase in the middle of the night. Public outrage forced them to repeal the move.

And how can we forget one other taint on our leaders: what’s been called by our newest Justice-elect the “worst judicial misconduct in U.S. history.” It is no coincidence that the Governor announced his platform in the beleaguered Luzerne County.

So what will stop change this time around?

All of these changes threaten the status quo. The problem is, they also require action from the Legislature, whose members like their quo to remain static. But this is a time when public push-back could make a big difference. Outraged citizens should call their state lawmakers’ office, and tell them that unless they want a repeat of the blood that followed the pay-raise scandal, they ought to pay attention.

In other words, if we the public remain apathetic, we can expect business as usual. But if we raise our voices and let our leaders in Harrisburg hear that we will accept nothing but systemic change for meaningful reform, perhaps this time will be different.