All those "Welcome to Pennsylvania" road signs are about to get a makeover and you -- well, those of you registered to vote, at least -- have a chance to say whose name should be displayed prominently, welcoming visitors to this state. Ed Rendell is the name for that sign and the man to lead our state for the next four years.

The Democrat has come out shining on two of the top issues leading up to this gubernatorial election: the future of the dreaded property tax and glaring inequities in school funding.

In terms of paying for public schools, Rendell's plan of raising the state's share of the cost to 50 percent -- from where it is now at just over a third -- would take a fair portion of the burden off poorer school districts, and begin to approach the kind of equity in funding that so many education advocates are pushing for.

At the same time, cutting or reforming local property levies and replacing them with revenue from legalized gambling, a slimmer state government and additional income taxes sounds like a plausible plan.

As college students, we can hope that Rendell's ideas about public school funding will carry over to the world of higher education. How much the state subsidizes our education is a question of great importance to many of us. In his answers at the first debate back in September, Rendell conceded that the state, along with the rest of the nation, is facing financial straits at the moment that affect how much Harrisburg can send up to University Park and out to the other campuses around the commonwealth.

But if there's anyone to lead us back to rosier times, it's the politician who's often credited with captaining a major economic turnaround in the city of Philadelphia during the 1990s.

He's well loved in and around the city of the Eagles and the Flyers, but he's used his campaign this past year to reach out north and west.

No, he hasn't had any direct experience serving in state government, but he has the kind of zeal to grow into the job, and a fresh face in the capital may turn out to be an asset.

Republican candidate Mike Fisher, unfortunately, didn't bring many new ideas to the table. He's done a passable job as the state attorney general under the Ridge and Schweiker administrations. But he doesn't seem to see much wrong with the way things are going in the capital.

This semester, we have welcomed the participation of two vocal and often radical third-party candidates. Whoever wins the election would do well to consider the proposals of Mike Morrill and Ken Krawchuk. They are extreme at times, but some of those ideas on crime, jobs and health care make a lot of sense and deserve to be treated as legitimate ideas.

We look forward to a day when the third-party candidates might have a chance at the top offices in Harrisburg. In the meantime, their ideas can precede them. But Rendell is by no means a compromise. We're excited to see what he can do for Pennsylvania.