Chris Norby

Norby taught secondary students in both Catholic and public schools for 25 years, including St. Joseph School in Placentia, Alverno High School in Sierra Madre, Arcadia High School and 18 years at Brea-Olinda High School in Brea, At Brea-Olinda, he served as Pep Squad Advisor, Assistant Wrestling Coach, and advisor to the Swing Dance and Young Republicans Clubs. Students voted Norby “Mr. Brea Teacher-of-the-Year” in 1998.[1]

In April 1984, Norby was elected to the Fullerton City Council and was re-elected in 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2000, serving 18 years until his election to the Orange County Board of Supervisors in 2002.[6]

Norby was awarded the 1997 Samuel Adams Award for Leadership in Local Government from the Local Government Council, a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote free market policies.[7]

In March 2002, Norby became the first person in 22 years to defeat an incumbent Orange County Supervisor when he won 54% of the vote in the Fourth Supervisoral District, representing Fullerton, Placentia, La Habra, Buena Park, and West Anaheim.[8][9] The Los Angeles Times described it as "one of the biggest upsets in the county's political history."[9] Norby was re-elected in 2006 and elected Chairman of the Board of Supervisors in 2007.[10]

While Supervisor, Norby helped end the County's futile efforts at converting El Toro Marine base into an unneeded commercial airport and pushed for reforms of public pensions and public contracting.[11] In response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision Kelo v. City of New London expanding government's power to seize private property, Norby authored Measure A, which strengthened the rights of homeowners and other private property owners by prohibiting Orange County government from seizing private property to give to a different private owner.[12][13][14] The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to put Measure A on the ballot,[13] which voters approved by a 76%–24% margin.[15] Norby also proposed and gained passage of a county ordinance issuing medical marijuana identification cards to eligible patients to show to police officers when questioned about marijuana possession.[16][17]

Norby served on the Orange County Transportation Authority as chairman, Eastern/Foothill Toll Road Authority, OC Sanitation District, OC Fire Authority Board and represented Orange County on the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) where he served as Co-Chair of the Committee on Local Government Fiscal Reform.[18][19][20][21][22]

As a Fullerton City Councilman, Norby had "gained a name statewide as a fierce critic of redevelopment projects."[29] In 1996, while Mayor of Fullerton, he founded Municipal Officials for Redevelopment Reform (MORR), a statewide coalition dedicated to fighting redevelopment agencies' provision of taxpayer subsidies to private development and eminent domain abuse.[30][31][32]

Norby also wrote Redevelopment: The Unknown Government, a book describing the distortions caused by the fiscalization of land use, eminent domain abuse, and sales tax competition that results in big-box stores, car dealerships, and sports teams receiving huge public subsidies.[29][32][33]

During his time as an Orange County Supervisor, Norby continued his fight against redevelopment agencies, sponsoring conferences to share information on how to combat redevelopment agencies,[31] testifying against efforts to extend redevelopment project deadlines beyond 40 years,[34] creating and gaining passage of Measure A to prevent eminent domain from being used to seize private property to give to another private party.[13][15]

As a California state Assemblyman, Norby continued his fight against redevelopment agencies, citing it as one of his top legislative priorities.[35] He argued against redevelopment agencies in media-sponsored debates,[36] spoke at community meetings across the state,[37] and published articles in various state publications calling for redevelopment money to be spent on education instead.[38][39][40][41]

Norby introduced legislation in the Assembly to prohibit redevelopment agencies from using tax revenue to subsidize professional sports teams or their stadiums.[42] He also introduced legislation to force redevelopment agencies to be subject the Local Agency Formation Commission process, as other local agencies were required to be.[43][44][45]

Norby crossed party lines to partner with Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, in an eventually successful effort to abolish redevelopment agencies.[46][47][48][49] When redevelopment agencies filed a lawsuit to overturn California's new law abolishing the agencies, Norby filed an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court of California in defense of the new law.[50][51][52]