Wagner's Lonely Support for a Constitutional Convention

Gubernatorial hopeful Jack Wagner is shaking up an otherwise sleepy race, becoming the first candidate to call for a Constitutional Convention, and seizing the good-government mantle:

During an appearance on a Sunday morning political talk show on Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV, Mr. Wagner responded to a question by saying a constitutional convention is the best way to involve the citizens in creating necessary reform.

"Having a review by the public of how this government functions is a good thing, and that's what a constitutional convention is all about," said Mr. Wagner on Monday. "State government needs structural reform, that's what the people are saying and I hear it everywhere I go."

Limiting the size the state legislature and changing rules governing redistricting are the major constitutional issues that Mr. Wagner said citizens are concerned about. He was reluctant to discuss the specifics of a convention, such as how delegates would be selected or what role the General Assembly would play in the process.

While his prescriptions are pretty vague, the possibility that this could become a major election issue is encouraging. Wagner's ideas to shrink the legislature and reform the redistricting process are largely in line with changes I have previously argued for in this space.

There's more...

The Convention should aim to reduce the number of elected officials that citizens have to monitor, preferably to a unicameral legislature such as William Penn originally intended. Accountability requires that voters be able to draw a direct line between electoral outcomes and policy outcomes. That's much easier when they have fewer politicians to keep track of.

It should also establish an independent redistricting body that is tasked with balancing the twin goals of equal representation and maximally competitive elections. The current system where the incumbent politicians get to draw their own districts is a recipe for dysfunction.

And finally, it should scrap the system of judicial elections for a merit-based system of appointments. The urgent need for an independent judiciary was underscored by an American Judicature Society study which revealed that 2/3
of civil litigants who appeared before the PA Supreme Court last year had donated to at least one of the justices.

Whether these donations actually altered outcomes in these cases is immaterial. The perception of corruption alone is sufficient to undermine the integrity of the institution. A working legal system depends heavily on the popular perception of a fair process.

Since the candidates are all still in the stage of the campaign where they're trying to figure out what issues are important to people, it's a great time for people who want to see a Constitutional Convention to be pushing this issue to the campaigns. Make sure they know you care about this. Call or email them, or better yet, go talk to them at their public appearances.