Two candidates have applied to fill the open board seat on the Grays Harbor Community Hospital District 2 Commission.

The seat opened up following the resignation in September of Bob Torgerson, who plans to move outside the district. It’s an at-large seat, meaning applicants can live anywhere in the hospital district.

The candidates are David Quigg, the hospital’s former director of public relations and marketing, and Richard Thompson, a registered nurse who works on contract for the hospital.

The candidates were interviewed by three board members on Monday. The full board met Tuesday night, but there was no recommendation from the interview committee and the vacancy will be taken up at the December meeting.

Quigg, now a real estate broker for Windermere in Aberdeen, played an active role when Community Hospital converted from being a private, non-profit hospital to a public hospital. He is a former president and executive director of the Hospital Foundation board, which supports the hospital through donations.

“I believe my relationships in the community and the trust I have built over many years between the hospital and medical group employees, as well as my close relationship with our local and national elected officials, would make me an asset as a hospital district commissioner,” Quigg wrote in his letter of interest.

Thompson works for the hospital on contract as a critical care nurse. He has 27 years experience in the medical field, mostly as a critical care nurse. He also was clinical manager for the critical care unit at St. Joseph Hospital in Tacoma. He lives in Ocean City, and along with his contract work for Community Hospital, works as a critical care nurse who monitors patients via the Internet and collaborates with onsite nurses at seven different regional intensive care units.

Board bylaws preclude anyone who is paid by the district from serving on the board and Thompson said he would resign from his hospital nursing duties if he is chosen.