Shiner

Shiner

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<p>Kingston resident Brian Shiner, who died Sunday according to a funeral home, is shown in 2015 wearing a clown costume in front of the Luzerne County Courthouse to protest the management of county government.</p>
                                 <p>File photo</p>

Kingston resident Brian Shiner, who died Sunday according to a funeral home, is shown in 2015 wearing a clown costume in front of the Luzerne County Courthouse to protest the management of county government.

File photo

Kingston resident Brian Shiner, an outspoken watcher of Luzerne County government, has died, according to the funeral home handling his arrangements.

Ted Collins, of the Maher-Collins Funeral Home in Kingston, confirmed Shiner died Sunday and said the death was not deemed suspicious. Collins said he is working with Shiner’s survivors from outside the area on whether they want an obituary and service.

In March, Shiner, 70, dressed in a grim reaper costume and paraded in front of the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre to oppose the potential hiring of Romilda Crocamo as county manager. He carried a “no Crocamo” sign with a drawing of what he said is supposed to be a crocodile, for a play on Crocamo’s name.

Council ended up selecting Randy Robertson for the top management position.

It wasn’t the first time Shiner participated in such a display. In 2015, he donned a rented clown costume and walked the sidewalk in front of the courthouse to express his displeasure over then-county manager Robert Lawton and Shiner’s belief that Lawton had been “clowning around with the way he runs government” while “a few clowns on council let him get away with it.”

Shiner faithfully attended most county government meetings for years and kept a detailed notebook of his observations.

County Controller Walter Griffith said he can’t speak to Shiner’s personal life but said Shiner’s work monitoring county government was in the best interest of taxpayers.

“We lost a good person. He was one of the true watchdogs who fought for good government,” Griffith said.

Griffith said Shiner got involved during the countywide reassessment and stayed active through the January 2012 implementation of the county’s home rule government structure.

“He loved home rule and wanted to make sure it worked,” Griffith said. “He always cared about the good of the order, not personal benefit.”

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.