Tuesday's statewide rejection of Supreme Court Justice Russell M. Nigro is historic. Voter anger over state legislators' pay-raise vote and their associated constitution-bending behaviors was directed at Nigro — and justice Sandra Newman, who nevertheless survived her bid to remain on the high court. Nigro's rejection is the first time a statewide judge has not been retained in the 36 years that such elections have been held.

While Nigro is not directly responsible for legislators' well-established pattern of rule-bending and increasingly arrogant attitudes, he was the first available target. Voters across the state should be feeling energized by Nigro's defeat and the realization that grass-roots activism can bring about change. Nigro's rejection, however, should be viewed as just the beginning of the process of bringing change to Harrisburg.

Legislators who will be running in next year's primary and general elections have been hearing the message, and Nigro's fate surely is sending shock waves through the Capitol. Whether or not lawmakers find a way to complete the work they began last week and vote to repeal the controversial pay raise is not the point. Since the outrageous July 7 pay-raise vote, the curtain has been lifted on how Harrisburg does business. And, the more voters have learned about the state legislature, the more they have become convinced that wholesale change is necessary.

Change on most voters' minds includes repeal of the pay raise, banning the use of unvouchered expenses, obeying the constitutional mandate to consider bills for three days in the House and Senate and to not change the original intent of bills, a reduction in the size of the state legislature, less-generous fringe benefits and possibly term limits.

If Nigro was an innocent bystander or collateral damage in terms of voter backlash against legislators who seem increasingly self-serving and out of touch with voters, a more legitimate judicial target will present itself in 2009, when Chief Justice Ralph Cappy is up for retention. Cappy was a strong defender of the pay-raise vote and wrote an opinion article that was published in this and other newspapers. More importantly, he has been described as a chief architect of the pay-raise deal and was reported to have participated in the behind-closed-doors dealings with legislative leaders that surprised the voters with a 2 a.m. vote on July 7. He should pay for such inappropriate behavior by joining Nigro on the sidelines.

Between next May's primary election and the general election a year from now, voters will have a chance to send career politicians into early retirement and change the culture in Harrisburg. Challengers must be supported and required to pledge in specific terms that they will work to change the way things are done in the state legislature.

Through their outrageous behavior on July 7 — and before — lawmakers have done the voters of Pennsylvania a favor by opening their eyes to just how far Harrisburg has fallen from the ideal of honest, open, representative government.

Thanks to the pay-raise vote, change is on the way.