I disagree with Mayor Roland Velasco’s claim that Gilroy should have conducted a nationwide search for a new city administrator instead of appointing Jimmy Forbis, who has been the Gilroy Finance Director since 2016 and is the current interim administrator.
Full disclosure, I live in San Martin and do not have a voice in the decisions made in Gilroy, and Jimmy Forbis is a personal friend.
I’ve never understood why businesses and public agencies feel that there are better candidates “out there” rather than the imminently qualified personnel already in-house. Mr. Forbis is intimately familiar with Gilroy’s city government and does not have to come up to speed; he doesn’t have to form new relationships with city employees and the various entities within, or associated with, the city as someone from outside would need to do. Furthermore, he lives in the area and knows the people and the community where he lives and works. Nobody coming from outside the area could have the same level of interest and commitment to your citizens.
Often, we need to take our eyes off the horizon, and focus on the people sitting right next to us in our own backyard. Gilroy doesn’t need to search the nation for a great city administrator—you already have him.
Craig Lore,
San Martin
