Former Lt. Gov. Bill Scranton yesterday called for repeal of a controversial legislative pay raise while voicing cautious approval for calls to reduce the size of the Legislature.

In response to a question at a Downtown breakfast meeting sponsored by the Republican Committee of Allegheny County, Scranton, a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, said the pay increase, "is absolutely wrong. It ought to be repealed.''

Asked to assess the chances of a reversal by the same lawmakers who approved the salary measure, Scranton said, "I think there is a greater chance than some of the legislators think.

"I'm around this state every day and in every county and I've got to tell you this is a universal issue and people are still hot about it," Scranton continued. "If it doesn't get repealed, my guess is you'll see some real consequences in the primaries and general election next year."

While it was enacted with bi-partisan support, Scranton tried to focus his indictment of the pay raise on the Rendell administration.

"His is purely pragmatic politics," he said of Rendell. "I'll give you what you want; you give me what I want. I'll give you a pay raise; you give me my budget. You let me borrow a billion dollars; I'll give you your local highway ... it's killing us."

In his remarks at the breakfast meeting, however, Scranton also spoke of the need for a "leaner Legislature."

Asked to define a leaner Legislature, Scranton said, "It means fewer numbers, I think.''

But he added that he did not have a specific proposal for shrinking the Legislature, a step that would require a Constitutional amendment.

"I have no preconceived notion of how many legislators there ought to be,'' Scranton said. "The question is, could we do with less? And my answer is, yes, we probably could do with less, but I don't know what that number is and I think a lot of smart people are going to be working on that, particularly in reaction to the pay increase.''

Scranton is a still-undeclared candidate for the Republican nomination and the chance to challenge Gov. Ed Rendell in 2006. Other potential GOP candidates include Lynn Swann, the sports broadcaster and former Steelers wide receiver; Sen. Jeff Piccola, R-Dauphin; and Jim Panyard, a former executive of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association.

The four likely GOP gubernatorial candidates have expressed varying degrees of criticism for the pay raise but Scranton has been the most prominent in his condemnation of the measure. His Web site invites viewers to sign an online petition seeking the repeal of the legislation enacted in July.

In staking out a prominent position on the issue, Scranton is identifying with the populist uprising against it. That position also represents an implicit criticism of another significant political audience -- the Legislature's Republican leadership who joined with Rendell and other Democratic leaders in speeding the bill's enactment.

Those legislative Republicans have a significant voice in the most immediate competition facing the Republican contenders -- the endorsement vote of Republican state committee members in early 2006.

Scranton said yesterday that the state committee endorsement was the prime current focus of his campaign, but he declined to rule out the possibility of running in the GOP primary even if he does not win the backing of the party officials. Scranton acknowledged reports that some advisers are urging him to do just that, but he emphasized that other voices have counseled him to abide by the committee decision.

"Ask me this question in January when we're closer to the time,'' he said. "I don't know the answer to it.''