Cathi Forbes

Cathi Forbes (born June 15, 1965) is an American politician of the Democratic Party who represents District 43B in the Maryland House of Delegates. Governor Larry Hogan first appointed her to succeed former state delegate Stephen Lafferty in 2019, in what was then District 42A. She was then elected to a four-year term in 2022, representing District 43B, which was drawn based on the 2020 Census.

Early life and career Forbes was born on June 15, 1965, in Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from Charles F. Brush High School in Lyndhurst, Ohio and attended Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where she earned a B.A. degree in English language and art history in 1987.

In December 2007, Forbes and a few others formed Towson Families United, seeking to pressure school and county officials to either build a new school in Towson or reopen one of the three that closed in the late 1970s, a plan that was opposed by county executive James T. Smith Jr. In May 2008, the school board voted to build a new school on the campus of the Ridge Ruxton School.

In 2014, Forbes became a mediation coordinator for the Baltimore County Orphans' Court. The Baltimore County Democratic State Central Committee voted to recommend appointing Forbes to fill the vacancy on September 25, and Governor Larry Hogan appointed her to the House of Delegates on October 9, 2019.

In the legislature Forbes was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on October 29, 2019.

Forbes has been a vocal advocate in favor of replacing Towson High School, the oldest and most overcrowded high school in the county. Two new high schools ware included in the 2022 budget.

Environment Forbes introduced legislation in the 2020 legislative session that would require all state-owned buildings to install solar panels on their roofs. The bill did not receive a vote during the session. In January 2022, Forbes introduced legislation, HB1165, to require new state-funded construction or renovation projects—including new schools—to be high-performance “green” buildings.

Social Issues After hearing about racist and anti-Semitic language that continues to exist on older property deeds, in the form of covenants, Forbes introduced HB1077 in 2020. It made such language easier to remove by homeowners, by waiving any fees associated with the removal. Her bill passed unanimously into law in 2020, and received national media attention.

Housing In September 2020, Forbes resisted a planned 57-unit affordable housing complex, due to the possible loss of a historic Black neighborhood that was currently there.

Labor rights Forbes introduced legislation in the 2021 legislative session that gave Baltimore County Public Library staff the right to form a union and receive collective bargaining rights. The bill passed and went into effect without Governor Hogan's signature. The employees voted in March 2022 to form a union.