Friday, October 19, 2012

Bellingham Executive Director Finalists Revealed


The Port of Bellingham Board of Commissioners on Oct. 16 named the finalists for the port’s executive director position and announced the candidates will attend a public reception later this month as part of the selection process.

The three finalists, who were chosen from among 95 applicants, are Jonathan Daniels, executive director for Port of Oswego, New York; Bill Panos, the Public Works and Port Director for the City of West Sacramento in California; and Les Reardanz, the Port of Everett’s Chief Administrative Officer.

“The commissioners have individually interviewed each of them and we believe these candidates have the ability to lead Port staff and Port operations in a manner that will result in strong performance for our community,” port Commission President Scott Walker said.

The finalists will be in Bellingham on Oct. 29 and Oct. 30 for additional interviews by commissioners, port staff and community members, with one portion of the interview process being a public reception and introduction to the finalists.

The port will host a public reception at 5 p.m., Mon., Oct. 29, at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal in Fairhaven. The reception is scheduled to begin with brief remarks from each finalist and is expected to provide the community with opportunities to have informal discussions with the candidates.

The candidates are vying to replace former executive director Charlie Sheldon, who resigned under pressure April 3 after about a year-and-a-half on the job. The position has been filled in the interim by port Deputy Director/CFO Rob Fix.