Following a significant recruitment effort, the Washington State Department of Transportation has narrowed the pool of candidates for Assistant Secretary of Transportation, Ferries Division, to its top two. Washington State Ferries is the largest ferry system in the U.S. and moves 22 million passengers annually.

WSDOT, legislators and local elected officials are co-hosting community meet-and-greet open houses in Friday Harbor and Bremerton, providing ferry communities an opportunity to meet and speak with the candidates. The Bremerton meeting is slated to run from 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10, at the Norm Dicks Government Center at 345 Sixth Street.

The two candidates are:

Captain George Capacci: Currently serving as interim Assistant Secretary, Capacci held the position of WSF deputy chief of Operations and Construction. He also served as vice president of Fleet Operations with the Alaska Marine Highway System and is a retired commissioned officer of the U.S. Coast Guard.

John Ladenburg: A practicing private attorney, Ladenburg has an extensive background in local and regional government including being elected as Pierce County Executive, Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney and to the Tacoma City Council. He has also served as chair of Sound Transit, president of Puget Sound Regional Council of Governments and president of Puget Sound Economic Development Board.

After brief introductions from the meeting hosts, participants will have an opportunity to talk with the candidates. There will be no formal question-and-answer session.