Common Cause/PA seeks special session on reform issues

In the wake of the Bonusgate scandal, Common Cause/PA is asking Gov. Ed Rendell to call a special session of the Pennsylvania Legislature this fall to deal with reform issues.

The special session is needed to "repair the broken down machinery of state government, and plug loophole riddled government integrity standards," says Common Cause Executive Director Barry Kauffman.

"The activities exposed last week by Attorney General Corbett can only be characterized as clear abuses of power, motivated by illegal personal enrichment, with the intent, in many cases, to deprive citizens of free and fair elections," Kauffman said in a press release. "It is evident to Common Cause and most other government reform advocates, that there is a compelling need for the General Assembly to return to Harrisburg immediately, focus exclusively on the problems of government integrity, and spend as much time as it takes to enact culture-changing reforms that can end Harrisburg’s culture of corruption. Until those repairs are made Pennsylvanians will have no confidence in the actions of this legislature."

Kauffman has been pushing reform for years to no avail.

At the height of the Pay Raise Scandal during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign, Common Cause urged candidates Ed Rendell and Lynn Swann to call a special session of the General Assembly at the beginning of the 2007-08 legislative session to focus exclusively on government reform issues.

That never happened.

The need for a special session on reform is greater than ever, Kauffman says.

"Too many elected officials no longer fear being held accountable by the voters," Kauffman said.

Redistricting reform is the key to removing entrenched politicians who believe they are above the law, according to Kauffman.

"Until Pennsylvania establishes an honorable redistricting system and enacts strong campaign contribution limits real reform cannot occur," Kauffman said. "These reforms are essential for competitive elections that provide real choices to every voter. And it is only through competitive elections that government accountability can begin to occur."

While citizens remained furious over the pay raise scandal, some legislative leaders and staff were continuing to contrive ways to illegally raid the state treasury for political and personal self-gain in a manner that ultimate may have deprived Pennsylvanians of free and fair elections, Kauffman says.

By utilizing public employees on state paid time, as well as public resources, candidates favored by legislative leadership were getting publicly funded campaign assistance that was not available to all other candidates, Kauffman says.

"Some of the legislative leaders are either slow learners or just bold brazen abusers of their public offices. The public tolerance of such activities is over," Kauffman says.

Kauffman: "There is a desperate need for the legislature to meet in special session, focus exclusively on the vast array of corrupted government machinery, and rebuild decision-making systems to ensure Pennsylvanians that government is serving the citizens’ interests instead of the interests of greedy public officials and the special interests that support those officials."

For more on Common Cause/PA, visit the group's Web site.