Ruldip “R.J.” Jammu will return to the Ceres Planning Commission following his appointment last week by the Ceres City Council along with Dr. Dorie Perez.

The two are replacing longtime commissioners Bob Kachel and Gary Del Nero who have both decided to step down.

Jammu was originally appointed in December 2022 to fill the unexpired term of Daniel Martinez who was elected to the City Council. Instead of reappointing Jammu when he reapplied for appointment in 2023, he was skipped over by the council and who instead chose Gary M. Condit.

“I want to definitely help the city that I was born and raised in and grew up in,” Jammu told the council.

A 2009 graduate of Ceres High School and U.C. Merced, Jammu is an engineer employed as superintendent of Electrical Services for PG&E. In his capacity he has worked with local planning jurisdictions.

Perez, an urban historian and ethnographer, said she is new to Ceres and “excited to get a little bit more involved.” In 2008 she earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UC Berkeley and her doctorate of Philosophy from UC Merced in 2019. Perez previously worked for the Oakland office of state Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner and was a constituent liaison for Oakland City Councilwoman Libby Schaaf.

Other applicants for the appointments were Kelly Cerny, Maninderjit Basra and Angela Huerta. Applicants were interviewed Oct. 14 by a committee of Mayor Javier Lopez and Vice Mayor Bret Silveira.

Two members of the Planning Commission are running for City Council. Condit is running for mayor and Cerina Otero is seeking the District 3 City Council seat occupied by Bret Silveira. Should either or both win, their seats on the commission will need to be filled by council appointment.