John Ladenburg

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 for three terms and was elected county executive in 2000. He was re-elected county executive in 2004 and left office in 2009 after reaching the term limit for the office. One of Ladenburg's principal accomplishments in office was spearheading the development of Chambers Bay 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. In 1967 he graduated from Stadium High School in Tacoma, Washington. He received a B.A. degree in political science (honors) in 1971 and a J.D. degree in 1974, both from Gonzaga University. 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.

He unsuccessfully ran for Attorney General of Washington in 1992 and 2008; Ladenburg also ran for a Washington Supreme Court seat in 2012. In 2009, he returned to private practice to operate Ladenburg Law Injury Attorneys in Tacoma with his two sons, John Ladenburg, Jr. and Erik Ladenburg. Ladenburg served as the interim administrator of the Pierce County Juvenile Court in late 2013. His wife, Connie Ladenburg, served two terms on the Tacoma City Council from 2002 to 2010 and one term in the Washington House of Representatives from 2010 to 2012. She 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.