Luzerne County releases names of applicants for new manager search committee

Eleven citizens ended up applying for Luzerne County’s Manager Search Committee, according to a list released by county council Tuesday.

In addition to former county council members Harry Haas and Linda McClosky Houck, as previously reported, the other applicants are: Danielle Ader, John Bonita, John Dean, Robert Fisher, David Fusco, Margaret Gushka, Robert Lemoncelli, Charles Sciandra and Douglas Wallace.

An outside committee must be convened due to Randy Robertson’s resignation after five months in the top post.

This committee must seek, screen and interview manager applicants and recommend the candidates it believes are the most qualified to council for its consideration, the county’s home rule charter says.

Council plans to publicly interview committee applicants on Jan. 3 and select three on Jan. 10. The chosen citizens must have relevant qualifications, knowledge and/or experience in seeking, recruiting and identifying qualified candidates for this type of top management position, the charter says.

Some basic career background on the nine committee applicants not previously identified based on information obtained from various resources:

• Ader, of Kingston, is a senior executive recruiter for a private consulting business that performs national searches to identify candidates for management positions.

• Bonita, of Plains Township, has worked as administrator and chief executive officer for Pittston Township government since 2007.

He also maintains a part-time practice as a certified public accountant.

• Dean, of Fairview Township, served as managing partner of law firm Elliott Greenleaf & Dean’s Wilkes-Barre and Scranton offices from 2004 until earlier this year, when he accepted a position as general counsel in charge of human resources and labor relations for the Crestwood School District.

Dean remains at the firm of Elliott Greenleaf in an “of counsel” role.

• Fisher, of Salem Township, is retired and has 45 years of experience in hospitals and other complex organizations, mostly as a chief financial officer.

• Fusco, of Pittston, has been the president and owner of Mechanical Service Co. since 2005.

• Gushka, of Kingston, has worked in social services for decades and is county president of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs.

• Lemoncelli, of West Pittston, is a teacher and head basketball coach at Wyoming Area High School.

• Sciandra, of Duryea, operates a consulting company that helps family-run companies with succession planning and strategic development and serves as chairman of the county Transportation Authority.

• Wallace, of Butler Township, is retired and has 37 years of experience in education and public safety.

Haas and McClosky Houck are both Kingston residents and served three consecutive terms on county council from the January 2012 implementation of home rule until the end of 2021.

Haas is a Dallas School District teacher. McClosky Houck retired from teaching in the Wyoming Valley West School District and currently is an adjunct instructor and music director for theater productions at Wilkes University.