Expressing a desire to involve citizens in political reform, Jack Wagner, state Auditor General and Democrat nominee for Governor, has publicly joined the call for a state Constitutional Convention.
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.
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Among the four Democrats and two Republicans campaigning to replace Governor Ed Rendell, Mr. Wagner is the only candidate to publicly support a convention. However, the voices calling for a sweeping review of state government have strengthened in recent years.
"The system is in need of a political enema," said Eric Epstein, head of RockTheCapitol.org, a grassroots political reform organization. "I think most people have accepted that a constitutional convention is the best way to do it. It's long overdue."
Epstein added that his organization is calling for a limited constitution convention where citizens would elect delegates who could "trim back the waste" and limit the size of the state government without radically overhauling the fundamental part of the Commonwealth's constitution.
Another state-wide grassroots organization is circulating a petition calling for a voter referendum on the constitutional convention issue to be included in the November 2010 general election. Tim Potts, the president and co-founder of Democracy Rising PA, said more than 3500 petitions have been signed online, and estimates that his organization has received another 1000 signed petitions in the mail.
A Franklin and Marshall College poll from January might be an indicator of how such a referendum would turn out. In that survey, 72 percent of Pennsylvanians supported the call for a new constitutional convention to alter the current state constitution, signed in 1968.
Mr. Potts said he does not doubt the sincerity of Mr. Wagner's declaration of support for the convention, but believes political motivation played a role as well.
"I think it makes an awful lot of sense. In a Democratic primary where the overwhelming majority of people say they don't know who they want to support, but the overwhelming majority of people say they want a constitutional convention, it was only a matter of time before one of the candidates tried to capture that part of the vote," said Mr. Potts.
Regardless of motivation, Mr. Wagner is the only candidate in the field to take a public stance on the constitutional convention issue.
Lauren Townsend, co-manager of Joe Hoeffel's campaign, said the Montgomery County Commissioner wants to reform government in many key issues, but added that Mr. Hoeffel is cautious about a constitutional convention being the best way to accomplish that goal.
A spokesman for Allegheny County Commissioner Dan Onorato's campaign said the candidate is not calling for a convention, but is also "not shutting the door to one".
Calls to the campaign of State Senator Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia), State Representative Sam Rohrer (R-Berks), and state Attorney General Tom Corbett were not returned.
Eric Boehm is a reporter for the Pennsylvania Independent. He can be reached at Eric@PAIndependent.com
