Lynn Swann, whose acrobatic receptions took him to four Super Bowls and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, made another leap last night as he formally launched his campaign for the Republican nomination for governor.

Alyssa Cwanger, Post-Gazette Lynn Swann formally declares his candidacy for the Republican gubernatorial nomination during a rally yesterday at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center in the Strip District. Click photo for larger image.

Before a cheering crowd of about 500 at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, the former Steelers receiver promised to bring leadership and change to his adopted state.

"I was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1974, and tonight, I'm drafted by Pennsylvania to be governor," Mr Swann said, shortly after making his entrance to the strains of Van Halen's "Right Now."

Speaking for 25 minutes without text or notes, a relaxed and engaging candidate pledged an administration that would deliver lower taxes in general and a reformed property tax system in particular. As in earlier appearances in his campaign, however, Mr. Swann offered few specific details of his polices amid the broad, thematic promises.

"I want to cut taxes in a responsible way and I'd like to reform property taxes ... getting rid of the millage system and giving us real property tax reform,'' he said. "If you want change, I'm your guy."

In an interview before his appearance, Mr. Swann dismissed suggestions that he had been any less forthcoming than his Republican rivals in fleshing out his policy vision.

As the Legislature struggled without apparent progress to craft some solution to the controversial property tax issue, Mr. Swann said, "I'm competitive. So even if I had that play today, if I laid it out for you today, don't you think that my opponents and other people would then say, 'We can adapt that plan, too'?

"I don't think this is the time to roll out the details," he added while saying that he would provide more policy specifics as the campaign moves forward.

One of Mr. Swann's rivals for the GOP nomination, state Sen. Jeff Piccola, R-Dauphin, has suggested that the school property tax should be replaced by a broader state sales tax. Another, former Lt. Gov. Bill Scranton, has said that the sales tax approach is promising but, without detailing his alternative, has said that Mr. Piccola's proposal goes too far.

Those three will face one another next month in the first crucial test of the campaign, an endorsement vote by the GOP's elected state committee members.

James Panyard, former director of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association, is also seeking the Republican nomination to oppose the incumbent Democrat, Gov. Ed Rendell, but Mr. Panyard is not seeking the party backing.

Mr. Swann didn't mention any of his party rivals last night, instead concentrating his criticism on Mr. Rendell. He drew the loudest and most enthusiastic reactions of his remarks with his attacks on the Democrat.

While acknowledging that no incumbent governor in Pennsylvania has ever lost a race for re-election, Mr Swann said, to the crowd's whooping assent, "No incumbent governor has ever been as bad as Ed Rendell.''

This is Mr. Swann's first run for public office, although he has been active in Republican politics, campaigning extensively for President Bush in the 2004 election.

While he seeks to follow in the path of political outsiders who have won statehouses such as Jesse Ventura in Minnesota and Arnold Schwarzenegger in California, Mr. Swann's candidacy boasts the support of many members of the state's GOP hierarchy, such as Mark Holman, who was former Gov. Tom Ridge's chief of staff, and former state chairman Alan Novak.

Mr. Swann, born in Tennessee in 1952, was raised in California, and earned a degree in public relations and a place on the All-American football squad while attending the University of Southern California. He appeared last night with his wife, Charene, and their sons, Braxton and Shaffer. His parents, Willie and Mildred Swann, sat beaming in the first row as Mr. Swann spoke in a makeshift theater in the round amid the center's artifacts of Pennsylvania history.

In an interview, Mr. Swann said that when he first registered to vote, it was as a Democrat, as his parents still are. He said he switched his registration to Republican after he moved to Pittsburgh, where he was active in civic affairs, including serving on the board of the Pittsburgh Ballet and as a spokesman for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America.

During and after his NFL career, he worked as a broadcaster for ABC Sports for nearly three decades. His most frequent appearances came as a sideline reporter for college football. His last assignment was the Sugar Bowl Monday night.

Mr. Swann sits on the corporate boards of the H.J. Heinz Co. as well as Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Inc. and Wyndham International Inc.

If elected, Mr. Swann would be the first African American to serve as Pennsylvania governor. His former Steelers teammate Mel Blount, one of the introductory speakers at last night's rally, said, "As a black man, it's important that we have representation in all parties.''

The Swann campaign hoped to demonstrate their candidate's appeal beyond traditional GOP constituencies at a stop tomorrow in Philadelphia. That was part of a cross-state tour with stops today in Erie, Altoona and Scranton, and tomorrow in Allentown and Lancaster in addition to Philadelphia.

As he was poised to formally enter the race, Mr. Swann's campaign announced that it had raised some $1.6 million in the year that just ended, and had more than $1 million in cash on hand.

A campaign aide for one of Mr. Swann's chief rivals, Mr. Scranton, painted a similar financial picture of the Scranton campaign. Mike DeVanney said that Mr. Scranton had raised roughly $1.8 million during 2005, with just over $1 million in cash.

Neither Mr. Piccola nor Mr. Panyard announced their contribution totals yesterday.

The Swann and Scranton war chests were expected to lead the Republican contenders, but they will be dwarfed by the 2005 receipts of Mr. Rendell, who, according to The Associated Press, will report a total of roughly $12 million in receipts in the campaign reports due at the end of the month.

Recent independent polls have Mr. Swann and Mr. Scranton well ahead of the other GOP contenders, although the undecided column outpolls all of them at this relatively early stage of the race.

A Keystone Poll conducted by Franklin and Marshall College in November showed Mr. Scranton with a narrow lead over Mr. Swann, but their positions were reversed in a more recent December survey conducted by Quinnipiac University, which showed Mr. Swann as the choice of 31 of the Republican questioned compared to Mr. Scranton's 23 percent; 5 percent for Mr. Piccola, 2 percent for Mr. Panyard and 37 percent undecided.

In all of the public polls of the race so far, Mr. Rendell has run ahead of each of his prospective challengers.