Working for California

Life has become increasingly busy for John Sibley, the newly appointed city manager for the City of Orange. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of a municipality that provides a wide array of services to its 137,700 residents.

Sibley was interim city manager for four months before his appointment and had served as assistant city manager since 2001. Previously, he spent 24 years with the County of Orange where he served as director for a number of offices, including employee relations, public facilities and resources, management and budget, and integrated waste management.

Among the challenges he now faces are enhancing public safety, transportation and housing — while keeping the city’s mission, “committed to excellent services for our residents, businesses and visitors” — in mind. Sibley also will be concentrating on defining the vision for the city, as well as reinstating an employee service recognition program to enhance morale and recognize the contributions of the 785-member city staff. He not only wants Orange to be a safe place but also a city where people want to live and work while feeling good about their community.

Balancing all these responsibilities is a challenge that Sibley looks forward to. He likes to use the metaphor of a circus plate spinner when he describes his work. “I always have multiple projects and priorities, and my job is to ‘keep all the plates spinning without allowing any to drop,’” he explained. “Ideally, some of the plates can be removed when a project is completed. However, new priorities and projects arise and so more plates get added as others are removed.”

Sibley graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a master’s of public administration in 1975. Being a Titan has become a bit of a family tradition for the Sibleys. His wife, a teacher in Placentia, earned her master’s degree from Fullerton, as did one of their three sons. Two of Sibley’s sons have recently returned from Iraq where they both flew helicopters.

“One of my sons was enrolled in the ROTC program at Cal State Fullerton,” Sibley said. “He served as a captain in the Army and will soon return to civilian life.”

His youngest son is a recently promoted captain in the Marines, and he is scheduled to rotate back to Iraq or Afghanistan early next year.

“Whenever I see President Milton Gordon, he always asks about the boys and how they’re doing. My wife and I always appreciate the fact that he remembers them.

“Of course, I really appreciate the opportunities my degree has afforded me,” Sibley said. “Because of my appreciation for the valuable education I received, I have tried to stay involved with the university, serving on various boards and committees over the years.”

This year, Sibley serves as president of the California State University, Fullerton Alumni Association.

“I was extremely flattered to be asked to be the president of the alumni board. I never anticipated holding that position, but that said, it is my goal to make the CSUF Alumni Association a strong presence on the CSUF campus. I have a great board, and we will all work to support the university through advocacy. We also want to increase membership and interest in the alumni association.”

Sibley also teaches a course, Art of Administration, offered by the Division of Political Science and Criminal Justice.

His advice to students?

“Don’t be afraid to step out and try something that’s not comfortable for you. Learn to think critically and express yourself effectively in writing and speaking.”