John W. Ladenburg Sr. (born September 19, 1949) is an American attorney and politician. Ladenburg was appointed to the Tacoma City Council in 1982 and elected to a full term in 1984. He was elected Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney in 1986, defeating incumbent Bill Griffies. Ladenburg served as Pierce County prosecutor fo
three termsbefore becoming the county executive in 2001. He was re-elected County Executive in 2004, terming out November 2008. One of Ladenburg's principal accomplishments in office was spearheading the development of
Chambers Bay
Chambers Bay is a public golf course in the northwest United States, located in University Place, Washington, on the Puget Sound southwest of Tacoma. The British links-style course is owned by Pierce County and opened for play on June 23, 200 ...
Golf Course in University Place, a municipal facility that hosted the 2010 United States Amateur and 2015 U.S. Open golf championships.
Ladenburg was born in
Leavenworth, Washington
Leavenworth is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee− East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,263 at the 2020 census. The entire town center is modeled on a German Bavarian ...
. In 1967 he graduated from
Stadium High School
Stadium High School is a public high school in Tacoma, Washington, and a historic landmark. It is part of Tacoma Public Schools, or Tacoma School District No. 10 and is located in the Stadium District, near downtown Tacoma. The original buildin ...
in
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...
. He received a B.A. degree in political science (honors) in 1971 and a J.D. degree in 1974, both from
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the ...
. After graduation, he began a career as a trial attorney. Ladenburg was involved in several high-profile criminal cases including the Federal Salmon Scam trials and the Pierce County Racketeering trials.
His wife, Connie, served two terms on the Tacoma City Council from 2002-2010, she was elected to the State Legislature in 2010 serving one term and then was elected to the Pierce County Council in 2012. His brother, Barry, was appointed to the Sea-Tac City Council in 2008 and left office in 2010, then was elected to the Council again in 2012. His brother, David Ladenburg, is an elected Municipal Court Judge in Tacoma, serving his third term.
As County Executive, Ladenburg advocated fo
converting a gravel pitinto what is now
Chambers Bay
Chambers Bay is a public golf course in the northwest United States, located in University Place, Washington, on the Puget Sound southwest of Tacoma. The British links-style course is owned by Pierce County and opened for play on June 23, 200 ...
. He is also considere
largely responsiblefor bringing the
U.S._Open_(golf) to the sit
in 2015
In 2009 Ladenburg returned to private practice. He is Of Counsel at the law fir
Ladenburg Law Injury Attorneysin Tacoma. He practices personal injury law with his two sons, John Ladenburg, Jr. and Erik Ladenburg.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladenburg, John
1949 births
Living people
Gonzaga University alumni
People from Leavenworth, Washington
Politicians from Tacoma, Washington
Washington (state) Democrats