A federal judge early this week confirmed that if Pennsylvania voters want to see reform in Harrisburg — and no repeats of last summer's sneaky and excessive pay-raise vote — they will have to force change from the voting booth rather than seeking relief from the courts.

Alawsuit brought by Common Cause of Pennsylvania, the League of Women Voters, sate Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Del., DemocracyRising PA and others was rejected by a federal judge on Monday. The lawsuit was an attempt to have the federal court ban Harrisburg lawmakers from repeating the way in which they awarded themselves a pay raise with a 2 a.m. vote on July 7, 2005, as well as how they've handled other controversial votes.

The judge decided that the issue of the constitutionality of state lawmakers' actions belongs in the political and electoral process, not the courts.

Though disappointed, several of those pressing the lawsuit suggested that the judge's decision confirms the basic reform message that the various groups have been communicating to voters: It's time to get rid of most incumbents in Harrisburg.

If the federal courts won't step in, then voters have to take responsibility for their own government and elect reform-minded people willing to change the General Assembly's atmosphere of arrogance, self-serving priorities and sense of being unaccountable to voters.

Based on the results of the May 16 primary, Pennsylvania voters are decidedly unhappy with their legislators and do want change. Last month's historic primary elections saw 17 incumbents rejected by voters. A press release by the Commonwealth Foundation noted that in this most recent primary election, "citizens repudiated more lawmakers in one day than they did in the eight previous primary elections."

The Foundation's statement also suggested — correctly — that the pay raise was a symptom of deeper problems in Harrisburg.

The controversial pay-raise vote served a valuable service in waking up complacent voters, who since the July 7 vote also have learned about lawmakers' use of constitution-bending unvouchered expenses, a greedy 2001 pension grab by state lawmakers, and more details of the extremely generous pay and benefit packages that lawmakers have provided themselves.

The overall impression is that many state lawmakers, particularly the handful of legislative leaders from both parties, have in recent years been more interested in serving their own self-interests than the broader interests of the state's citizens.

The Commonwealth Foundation supports a comprehensive agenda for legislative reform that includes more transparency and accountability of lawmakers' actions coupled with meaningful lobbying reform. It is worth remembering that Pennsylvania remains the only state in the nation without mandatory lobbyist- reporting and regulation laws. And in recent years, the gambling industry has been spending millions of dollars in preparation for the introduction of legalized slot machines.

The Commonwealth Foundation expands its call for reform to include limiting the number of session days for the legislature (which is the second-largest and most expensive in the nation), returning the General Assembly to part-time status, establishing term limits, and scaling back the overly generous pay and benefit packages that lawmakers have given themselves, to bring their compensation more in line with the pay and benefits of the state's average citizens.

Granted, it's an ambitious agenda, but the defeat of 17 incumbents, including two powerful GOPleaders, coupled with a high number of announced retirements, sets the stage for real change in Harrisburg.

Voters' next assignment is to defeat more incumbents in the November general election and send reform-minded men and women to Harrisburg to begin to dismantle the culture of arrogance, entitlement, and disrespect for voters.

Thanks to last summer's pay-raise vote, lawmakers cannot be assured of re-election, and the status quo is more vulnerable than it's been in years. This week's court ruling makes it clear that voters must continue to pay attention to what happens in Harrisburg and remain determined to turn out still more entrenched incumbents in the November election.