Dear Gov. Siegelman:

   Almost a year ago, you crushed the hopes and dreams of would-be constitution reformers at the annual meeting of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.

   You told them you were no Don Quixote.

   You told them, "I'm really not in terested in tilting at windmills" by tackling constitution and tax reform.

   You told them, "What I want you to do, is show me how making these changes will take us further and faster down the road toward our strategic objectives."

   You told them those objectives were the three E's: education, efficiency in government and economic development.

   You told them that was your focus, doing the possible.

   Not much has changed in the year since. Your senior adviser, Jim Hayes, insists that you support rewriting Alabama's constitution, and that you even would like a constitutional convention to do so. You say you're waiting for the public to clamor for it.

   Others aren't waiting on their wait-and-see governor or anyone else. They're joining the cause, from ordinary citizens around the state, to a growing number of civic groups, to a handful of lawmakers courageous enough to take on entrenched special interests that have locked down the Legislature for so long. They all have awakened to the realization in the 100th year after our constitution be came law, that this decrepit, immoral document holds us back the way a governor throttles a Go Kart engine.

   What's so disappointing, Governor, is that you are throttling Alabama, as well, with your failure to lead. For the next week, The News' editorial page will lay out for you, other elected officials, civic leaders and citizens the case for why this state needs a new, improved constitution. The new document would replace the one that a century ago granted ruling authority to a coven of the rich and powerful. That stripped away the right of blacks and poor whites to vote. That prohibited local governments from running their own affairs. That tied up virtually all state spending on specific projects, preventing lawmakers from responding to critical needs. That embraced much of an unfair tax system, such as the abomination guaranteeing that huge landowners pay pennies on the acre in property tax.

   And for you, Governor, The News will show how a new constitution can help you achieve your goals. How it can make it easier for elected officials to better our children's chances for a quality education. How it can remove barriers to efficient government, both at the state and local level. How the job of recruiting industries to Alabama can become easier.

   In the next week, Gov. Siegelman, you will see the constitution's manifold problems and how they make your goals harder to reach. We'll also offer what we believe to be the best solution to the constitutional morass.

   Armed with this information, you can assume your rightful role of leading our state from the darkness of the 19th century to a brighter 21st, of leading a charge for good government for a good, deserving people, of creating a lasting legacy not just for yourself, but for all of Alabama.

   The people of Alabama need you and your bully pulpit, Gov. Siegelman. They need a leader at the highest level of government making a strong case that now - not next year or next decade - is the time to begin work on a new constitution, a new day in Alabama government.

   It must be done right. You and everyone involved must be committed to crafting not just a new document, but a better, honorable document.

   The wonderful, inspiring U.S. Constitution exemplifies the best in government: one of the people, by the people and for the people. Our rotting carcass of an Alabama Constitution assures government of special interests, by special interests and for special interests.

   Won't you join the growing number of Alabamians who want a state constitution worthy of its people?

Next: Constitution's Cost

Reprinted with Permission from The Birmingham News.