STOCKTON Kris Balaji did not need to obtain directions to his new job.
Six months after leaving the position as director of San Joaquin County Department of Public Works, he has been hired to return, in effect replacing himself. The department had been under interim leadership during the hiring process.
The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors voted to rehire Balaji on Tuesday, and he was in his old Public Works office on Hazelton Avenue in Stockton on Wednesday.
“It was my first day back, and I feel totally at home,” Balaji said. “I didn’t expect to feel that way. It feels wonderful to be back.”