Chris Norby for Supervisor

The political pundit who first counseled against changing horses in midstream obviously never tried to get the political horses on the Board of Supervisors more in step with the electorate.

To be sure, such a change is a difficult maneuver, but we think voters in the 4th District ought to make it. There is only one supervisorial seat being contested March 5, and it provides an opportunity for needed change. And so we recommend Fullerton Councilman Chris Norby as the new 4th District representative.

It’s not an endorsement we make lightly. We recognize the political reality of how difficult it is to defeat a well-financed incumbent. But we believe Norby’s 17-year record of city council and regional government service make him a strong challenger. Most important is our belief that he is best able to provide certain qualities of leadership that have been missing in incumbent Supervisor Cynthia P. Coad’s term of office.

Coad, the current board chairwoman, has come to represent the intransigence and alienation of the board from many it is supposed to serve. She is pleasant and good on some local community redevelopment and policing activities. But with his broad experience, questioning mind and sense of the big picture, Norby really is much better suited for the regional leadership position of the board.

Coad’s needless lawsuit against a doctor involved in a health-care initiative turned off a lot of people; she and two colleagues stubbornly blocked a popular measure that would ensure tobacco settlement money went for medical needs. She also made a minority vote to appeal the court decision that rejected the board’s lawsuit seeking to overturn the public vote supporting medical spending.

She could have taken a much more inclusive and conciliatory approach on the controversial El Toro base reuse question when it became evident that the board majority was out of step with the public, even with some who back some kind of aviation use.

Regardless of where district residents stand on El Toro, they should look at the broader need for strong, independent and more visionary leadership. This is a board governed largely by a majority of three--Coad, Chuck Smith and Jim Silva--that has walked too much in lock-step and needs shaking up.

With Supervisor Todd Spitzer’s likely departure from the board after the November election, if he is elected, as expected, to the State Assembly, there is no telling what the new board makeup will ultimately be, or indeed how a future board majority will line up on the airport issue. But Spitzer has provided the board with independence and a willingness to question assumptions and provide fresh thinking. The board needs someone to stir the pot on a range of issues that come before county government, and Norby can provide that kind of style.

If elected, Norby will have to deal with the aftermath of the El Toro vote, either airport or park. While he favors the park, and sees it as a big issue, it’s not his biggest concern. Whatever the outcome of the vote on Measure W, and whatever comes of the airport-versus-park debate, Norby promises to be far less rigid in finding the solutions on this and other issues.

As a councilman he has at times been contentious, and depending on which side of the issue you were on, either stubborn or steadfast. But he also has shown an independent streak that doesn’t make him a go-along-to-get-along type of public official. Facts and logic sway him.

The county board needs questioning, thoughtful, energetic and independent leadership. It needs representatives with a keen understanding of government and its countywide and regional, as well as district, needs. It needs someone like Chris Norby, and we urge his election.