Reform of a dysfunctional state capital is at the core of the campaign for governor — in New York. Based on the recent record in Harrisburg — including Bonusgate; disgraced, indicted and convicted state lawmakers; Walking Around Money; abuse of per diems; the pay-raise vote of 2005; and the pension-grab vote of 2001 — there is plenty to change in Pennsylvania's legislative body, which too often demonstrates arrogance and a sense of entitlement.

In New York, gubernatorial candidate and former state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is running a "citizens campaign" to take back Albany. When will this state's candidates, Dan Onorato or Tom Corbett, express the same passion?

Cuomo is making legislative reform a main focus, and he also says he will end pension-padding in the public sector. This is remarkable from a Democratic candidate, when the ties between his party and public employee unions are so deep.

A recent article in the New York Times refers to a "grim statistic" — that state lawmakers enjoy a re-election rate of more than 95 percent, and that incumbent state lawmakers are "more likely to be chased out of office by political or personal scandal than to lose an election." Just like Pennsylvania.

Cuomo is pledging to freeze wages of state employees and also to overhaul the state's education and Medicaid systems, each of which spend far more than the U.S. average. Cuomo also is vowing to remove redistricting from partisan elected officials, to end the abusive gerrymandering process where lawmakers draw up districts with minimal competition.

Corruption and dysfunction in the state capital has also brought out former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, who at age 85 is launching what he calls his last hurrah — cleaning up Albany. Where is former Gov. Tom Ridge to do the same?

Plainspoken Koch says, "Either you are on the side of the angels or you are a bum." Koch calls his effort "New York Uprising" and says he wants to "shame — and oust — lawmakers he calls 'enemies of reform.' "

In Pennsylvania, we have no high-profile politicians pushing for reform. Naturally, the Legislature, at least the majority of lawmakers, is silent. So is Gov. Ed Rendell, who only smiled sheepishly after the scandalous 2005 pay-raise vote, and said he didn't like it but it was legal. Ridge, who now works for the natural gas industry, was instrumental in allowing the costly and unfair pension grab of 2001 that gave lawmakers a 50 percent boost in their pensions while giving a 25 percent increase to other public employees, including teachers.

Current candidates for Pennsylvania governor, Democrat Onorato and Republican Corbett, do mention reform, but they hardly are making it the centerpiece of their campaigns.

Valiantly pushing the issue is a group called Democracy Rising PA, which has asked Onorato and Corbett to respond to its questionnaire on public integrity and reform. Onorato has responded, and Democracy Rising says Corbett has promised his response will come soon.

The questionnaire asks about a constitutional convention to achieve reforms that the General Assembly refuses to address, because many reforms would change status quo that gives legislative leaders great powers.

Also addressed in the questionnaire is the Bonusgate grand jury's report on necessary reforms, which proposes cutting the cost and size of the Legislature and ending per diems and WAMs (Walking Around Money). It also proposes more transparency, and docking pay from lawmakers and the governor when the budget is not passed on time. Another crucial change described in the report would take redistricting out of the hands of partisan politicians, to end the gerrymandering that lets Republicans and Democrats carve up districts to make them safe for incumbent lawmakers.

Corbett and Onorato need to start talking about how they would clean up Harrisburg.

Voters should demand this of both candidates for governor and all candidates for the state Legislature.

Have them put it in writing. If they refuse to sign, tell them they have lost your vote.