Oct. 7 will mark three months since Pennsylvania's lawmakers, in a 2 a.m. vote without debate or notice, increased their salaries by 16 percent to 34 percent. The minimum salary was set at $81,050, second only to salaries of legislators in California.

By now, lawmakers obviously thought, the furor over their brazen, arrogant action - and the even more brazen, arrogant provision allowing lawmakers to violate the spirit of the state constitution by accepting their higher pay immediately via "unvouchered expenses" rather than after the 2006 legislative election - would have subsided or become virtually nonexistent. Fortunately, they have been proven wrong.

Monday's rally in Harrisburg showed that anti-raise furor still is very much alive, as it should be. It can only be hoped that the sentiment displayed by the 1,000 people in attendance, despite poor weather conditions, will serve as a seed for an even greater storm against the appalling July 7 pay-hike measure that every right-thinking commonwealth resident should detest and be calling for repeal.

Taxpayer anger must continue to be vented toward all lawmakers who voted for the undeserved pay raise despite already being in line for a generous cost-of-living increase - a larger cost-of-living increase than many, if not most, other state residents received this year. But the preponderance of anger should be targeted at the leadership of both houses of the legislature - the leadership of both parties - since they are the culprits who engineered the middle-of-the-night vote, not having the spine to carry out their self-serving mission in the light of day.

With that reality in mind, it is time for state residents to commit themselves to the goal that all legislative leaders - in both houses and of both parties - must go. It would be preferable for those self-serving leaders simply to resign immediately in order to begin the process of returning the General Assembly to a legislature representing the people rather than lawmakers' own financial well-being. But, with that unlikelihood, the drumbeat must be for current leaders not to seek re-election or, if they do, for voters to soundly defeat them at the polls the next time they are up for a new term - most in November 2006 and the remainder in November 2008.

If voter determination based on that ultimate goal loses steam, it will pave the way for further arrogance and brazenness on the part of legislators in future years. What will stop future abuses of taxpayer money, like that of July 7, if the current 98 percent legislative re-election rate remains intact?

Meanwhile, targeting the leadership shouldn't leave "off the hook" rank-and-file incumbents who voted for the raise, those who are receiving it now via unvouchered expenses, or those who plan to accept it after next year's general election.

Many taxpayers might be wondering who the legislative leaders are who, because of their direct support or their unwillingness to publicly and strenuously challenge other leaders' higher-pay intentions, were in the end responsible for the pay raise being passed - despite how they individually voted - or were allowed to vote - and what they have said since.

The Senate leadership is made up of Republicans Robert C. Jubelirer (Blair County), president pro tempore; David J. Brightbill (Lebanon), majority floor leader; Jeffrey E. Piccola (Dauphin), majority whip; Joe Scarnati (Jefferson), majority deputy whip; Noah W. Wenger (Lancaster), majority caucus chairman; Robert D. Robbins (Mercer), majority caucus secretary; Robert J. Thompson (Chester), majority appropriations committee chairman; Joe Conti (Bucks), majority policy committee chairman; and Mary Jo White, (Venango, who also represents much of Butler County), majority caucus administrator, and the following Democrats: Robert J. Mellow (Lackawanna), minority floor leader; Michael A. O'Pake (Berks), minority whip; Vincent J. Hughes (Philadelphia), minority deputy whip; Jay Costa Jr. (Allegheny), minority caucus chairman; Gerald J. LaValle (Beaver), minority caucus secretary; Vincent J. Fumo (Philadelphia), minority appropriations committee chairman; Richard A. Kasunic (Fayette), minority policy committee chairman; and Constance H. Williams (Montgomery), minority caucus administrator.

Making up the House leadership are Republicans John M. Perzel (Philadelphia), speaker; Samuel H. Smith (Jefferson), majority leader; David G. Argall (Schuylkill), majority whip; Elinor Z. Taylor (Chester), caucus chairman; Raymond Bunt Jr. (Montgomery), caucus secretary; Mario J. Civera Jr. (Delaware), policy administrator; Merle H. Phillips (Northumberland), caucus administrator; and Brett Feese (Lycoming), appropriations chairman; and the following Democrats: H. William DeWeese (Greene), minority leader; Michael R. Veon (Beaver), minority whip; Mark B. Cohen (Philadelphia), caucus chairman; Kevin Blaum (Luzerne), caucus secretary; Stephen H. Stetler (York), policy chairman; Fred Belardi (Lackawanna), caucus administrator; and Dwight Evans (Philadelphia), appropriations chairman.

On Thursday's Butler Eagle editorial page, Timothy Potts, a co-founder of Democracy Rising PA, charted how leaders of both parties employed a "stealth bill" to bring about the middle-of-the-night pay vote. Passage of the pay bill, which Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell used bad judgment in signing, paved the way for the unvouchered expenses to circumvent - some people would say "violate" - the state constitution.

Excessive partisanship keeps much of anything important from happening expeditiously in the General Assembly. However, as July 7 revealed, partisanship is tossed aside when the issue is fattening the current crop of legislators' wallets and pocketbooks.

Voters shouldn't forget what happened three months ago, and they should keep the pressure for repeal of the raises unrelenting - then have their final say at the ballot box.

Control of Pennsylvania's government must be returned to genuine public servants, not greedy servants-of-self who have shown that they can't get enough.