Candidates will meet with the public on Sept. 24.

The Sunset Empire Transportation District has selected five candidates for executive director.

Jeff Hazen resigned as executive director in May following the transit district’s financial collapse and abrupt shutdown. The transit district’s board has said Hazen would have been terminated for financial malfeasance had he not resigned. A state audit of the agency’s finances is underway.

After Hazen’s resignation, Paul Lewicki, the agency’s former operations manager, stepped in as interim director.

The candidates selected for interviews are Craig Johnston, Jason Jones, Kathy Kleczek, Jeff “Miles” Meilbeck and Arla Miller.

Johnston is operations manager for Basin Transit Service Transportation District in Klamath Falls.

Jones is mobility manager for Sunset Empire.

Kleczek is the former chair of the transit district’s board and has served in leadership positions with Clatsop County Democrats and the Special Districts Association of Oregon.

Meilbeck most recently acted as executive director of the Flagstaff Metropolitan Planning Organization in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Miller serves as regional transit coordinator for the Oregon Department of Transportation’s public transportation division and has worked closely with Sunset Empire in recent months.

The candidates will be available to meet with the public at an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sept. 24 at the Astoria Transit Center on Marine Drive.