Forbes on short list for drawing lines

Cory Golden
The Davis Enterprise
November 17, 2010

Former Davis City Council and Board of Education member Stan Forbes gives Yolo County something Los Angeles no longer has — a chance at having a local on the state's first independent redistricting commission.

Forbes is one of 36 finalists for 14 places on the Citizens Redistricting Commission, which will be tasked with drawing new state Senate, Assembly, Board of Equalization and congressional districts.

On Thursday, the state auditor will randomly select eight names from the pool: three Democrats, three Republicans and two decline-to-state voters or members of a minor party. They, in turn, will go back to the pool of finalists and pick two more members from each category by Dec. 31 to fill out the panel.

Forbes said his application was no whim — "I gave it my very best shot" — with the hope that he could have a hand in drawing lines that will benefit moderates and increase voter confidence.

"I think that the politics have gotten way too polarized and getting rid of the gerrymander will have a tendency to make moderate people somewhat more competitive," he said. "That's particularly true at the congressional level, where the gerrymander is really quite something.

"Given the level of confidence in the Legislature and Congress, true or not, the perception is that politicians are more concerned about their own longevity than the people," he said. "Taking (redistricting) out of the hands of people who have an obvious conflict of interest will hopefully mean the public will have a little less cynicism and a little more confidence (in the system).

"Politicians may or may not be feathering their own nests, but that's certainly the perception."

Forbes served on the Davis school board from 1987 to 1996 and on the City Council from 1996 to 2000. He was a registered Republican until 2000, when he switched his registration to decline-to-state.

Now 63, he splits his days between his almond orchard, just south of Esparto, and The Avid Reader at the Tower, the Sacramento bookstore he co-owns.

Getting to this point in the selection process has been an arduous process.

About 30,000 Californians applied for a place on the redistricting commission. Of those, 4,500 opted to go forward, submitting answers to five essay questions and letters of recommendation.

A three-member applicant review panel then reviewed the applications, held public hearings and interviewed applicants. The panel selected 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans and 20 who are decline-to-state voters or who belong to another party.

Legislative leaders were then given the chance to strike up to two names each from the three pools.

Voters passed Proposition 11, creating the panel, in 2008, then Proposition 20, adding to it the responsibility of drawing congressional districts, earlier this month.