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Political watchdog and purposeful prankster Gene Stilp, who for decades railed against government wrongdoing, deserves an award from Harrisburg’s lawmakers.
Stilp, 64, who recently announced an end to his out-in-front activism, is unlikely to receive an honorary recognition of his “retirement,” as he was a bane to many people within the establishment. He concocted brazen but relatively inexpensive stunts to embarrass the powerful and spotlight their misdeeds; in other instances, he filed lawsuits. In some cases, Stilp did both.
Perhaps most famously, the former Wilkes-Barre resident and King’s College alumnus legally challenged state legislators’ 2005 “midnight pay raise.” He literally drove home his discontent – and rallied the public to call for reforms – by traveling the state in a pink school bus, parking at demonstration sites and displaying an inflatable pink pig.
Critics characterized Stilp in a recent news account as “misguided” and a “noodge.” He was neither.
He was, and is, a citizen extraordinaire – not satisfied simply to vote on Election Day, but compelled to engage in more long-standing and meaningful ways.
Among other activities, he has filed state ethics complaints, protested environmental threats, become certified as a firefighter to serve his Daughin County community and volunteered after the 2001 terrorist attacks to dig through the World Trade Center’s rubble. He ran unsuccessfully for elected offices, including a 2012 congressional contest in which he challenged incumbent Lou Barletta, the Republican from Hazleton.
Fellow status quo-shaker Eric Epstein told the Morning Call newspaper that Stilp has “spent a lifetime being an American patriot.”
A former attorney, Stilp told reporters he’s leaving the Harrisburg scene to devote more time to personal and family health issues and act as a Grand Canyon guide. His departure leaves a gaping hole in Pennsylvania politics – where many outsiders rightly complain, but all too few residents actually challenge the system.
Stilp’s publicity stunts were guided by a Will Rogers-like sensibility, imploring elected officials to use common sense and to do right by the citizens they represent. He recognized that reform would rarely, if ever, come from within the institutions, so pressure had to be exerted from external forces.
He harnessed the power of public shame and shook the Capitol’s foundation.
May his legacy inspire others.