For anyone interested in seeing change in the way Harrisburg lawmakers conduct business, Wednesday was a beautiful day despite the overcast skies and chilly temperatures. The reason for the optimism is found in the results of Tuesday's primary election in which Pennsylvania voters rejected two top Senate leaders, 15 House members and set the stage for real legislative reform.

The July 7, 2005, pay-raise vote, cast at 2 a.m. with no advance notice, no opportunity for public input and no open debate in the legislature, is being credited with this week's electoral shake-up. Voters were angry not only with the 11 percent to 54 percent pay raises that were repealed four months later, but also with the process. In the fallout from the pay-raise controversy, voters learned about lawmakers routinely violating the state constitution in terms of how laws are passed. And linked to the stealth pay-raise vote was the clearly suspect technique of using so-called unvouchered expenses to pocket the pay-raise money immediately instead of waiting until the next legislative term — as the state constitution mandates.

To change the way lawmakers in Harrisburg operate will require more than the historic results of this primary election. All challengers will have to press the message of reform through the November election. Given Tuesday's results and the already-announced retirements, nearly one-fifth of the legislature will turn over next year. And that's not factoring in potential upsets of incumbents in November's general election.

This week's results are remarkable, given the fact that during the 1990s only about 1 percent of incumbents lost primary elections. And incumbents had huge financial advantages, outspending challengers by as much as a 10-1 ratio.

Noting the rejection of the two prominant Senate leaders and 15 House members in Tuesday's voting, Tim Potts, a reform advocate and head of DemocracyRisingPa, proclaimed, "Pennsylvania is having elections again."

And Eric Epstein, founder of the reform-minded group, RockTheCapital, said, "It is no longer if reform will occur, but what it will look like."

Last November's rejection of one state Supreme Court justice for retention was the first electoral reaction to the pay-hike vote. This week's historic primary election results will send a much more powerful shock wave through the state capital. But the reform movement needs to gain strength and send yet another message — and many new lawmakers — in order to further dismantle the status quo in Harrisburg.

Voters need to show up in November and continue the legislative shake-up, but the demand for reform is already clear. Tuesday's defeat of the two top Senate leaders was the first time in 42 years that legislative leaders were knocked out in the primary. Tuesday's results "will send shock waves throughout the political establishment for years to come," according to Mike Young, a retired Penn State University political science professor.

Voters can hope he's right, and reinforce the message in November by ousting more incumbent lawmakers. They'll also have the opportunity to continue that shake-up in 2008, when the half of the Senate not voted on this year will be up for election.

Last summer's pay-raise fiasco served as a wake-up call to voters. Lawmakers' arrogance and self-serving ways had become accepted as fact — until they went too far and passed the sneaky pay-raise package, followed by the use of bogus expense reports to grab the ill-gotten money immediately.

The pay-raise vote might have been the best thing Harrisburg lawmakers could have done in terms of bringing an effective state legislature back to Pennsylvania.