Normally, when a Harrisburg lawmaker announces his or her plans to retire, it's cause for celebration — and a chance to hope for change. Having entrenched state lawmakers leave office, either voluntarily or by an election defeat, usually means that there is a better chance of ending the legislature's culture of arrogance and its domination by self-serving politicians. New lawmakers generally come to Harrisburg hoping to bring change and to make the state legislature more open and accountable to average citizens.

And, in fact, state Rep. Lisa Bennington, D-Allegheny, did come to Harrisburg in 2006 hoping to bring change to a legislative body badly tarnished by the pay-raise vote of 2005 and subsequent scandals. But, even before her first term is over, Harrisburg's do-nothing culture has taken a toll on Bennington.

Bennington is among the 20 or so state lawmakers who have announced that they will not be running for re-election later this year.

It's unfortunate that Bennington is not willing to stay in Harrisburg a while longer to help make the state legislature work more effectively. Instead, she is returning to her private law practice where she feels she can get things done because she is "used to deadlines and timelines and work hours that are pretty much defined by the sun."

In other words, after just one year, Bennington is so frustrated with the lack of progress in Harrisburg that she apparently sees it as hopeless — or a waste of her time and effort. The issues that Bennington had hoped to advance include gun control, a statewide ban on smoking in public places and a requirement that hospitals provide sexual assault victims with emergency contraception. Bennington's frustration with the failure to advance these tough issues led her to decide to leave Harrisburg at the end of her first term.

Hopefully, the lawmakers focused on making Harrisburg work better and be more responsive to voters' interests won't give up so easily. The list of needed reform measures is long, starting with a better open-records law, and also including the scaling back of lawmakers' overly generous pensions and other fringe benefits. Additional changes that would make state government more effective include redistricting reform and possibly term limits or reducing the size of the legislature.

It is unfortunate that Bennington is unwilling to continue working to change Harrisburg. Seeing a hopeful new lawmaker quickly become discouraged and frustrated with the dysfunctional nature of the General Assembly is troubling — and a sign of just how hard it is to get things done in Harrisburg.

Bennington's pet issues might have been controversial and touched more hot buttons than pending reform measures, but the departure of a bright, capable freshman lawmaker after only one term is not a good sign.