Saratoga News Photograph by George Sakkestad John Cherbone has been named acting public works director--following a near-meteoric rise in the department. John Cherbone takes over as acting public works director By Sarah Lombardo It's been a busy few months for city employee John Cherbone. About four months ago, he moved up from assistant engineer to associate engineer. About two months ago, he took over management of daily operational and maintenance activities at the city's corporation yard in the absence of the permanent public works services manager. And Oct. 21, the City Council approved his appointment to the position of acting public works director. Not bad for someone who applied to Saratoga just to polish his interviewing skills. Cherbone, 33, put in a bid for an engineer job in Saratoga while he was still a student at San Jose State University. "I saw the ad in the paper, and I decided I would just try it for the interviewing experience," he said. He must not have needed the experience, because Cherbone wound up getting hired by the city. Larry Perlin, the public works director at the time, even held the position open until Cherbone completed his bachelor's in civil engineering and graduated shortly after in spring 1992. Six years later, Cherbone is still with the city of Saratoga, making the long trek to work from Hollister every day. Over the years Cherbone has been involved in a range of projects, including land development activities, plan checks and inspections, design and construction of capital projects, and the implementation of the city's pavement management program, according to current City Manager Perlin. Although Cherbone said he enjoys working for the residents of the city, he wasn't always interested in civil engineering. The San Jose native was originally a metallurgical engineering major at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. When his father developed cancer, Cherbone decided to move back to the Bay Area. "I wanted to be near the family," Cherbone said. "So I transferred to San Jose State." But San Jose State didn't offer classes in metallurgical engineering, which is the study of metal and its alloys and their application in industry. So Cherbone signed up for civil engineering classes. "It was almost chance that it worked out that way," he said. "I kind of fell into it accidentally." Cherbone replaces former public works director Chris Fischer, who was hired in July but resigned for health reasons. Prior to Fischer, Perlin held the top public works department position. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, November 4, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.