To prepare for law school, he attended Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, for two years.

[5][22] In 1912, Forbes decided to run as a Republican for a District 21 seat in the Oregon House of Representatives.

[24] Forbes and Wesley O. Smith of Klamath Falls were the only Republicans to file for the District 21 seats.

[25][26] Since no Democratic candidates filed for the District 21 seats, Forbes and Smith were unopposed in the general election.

[28][29] During the session, he served on the counties, irrigation, public lands, revisions of law, and rules committees.

[36] In 1914, Forbes decided to run for re-election, seeking to retain his House seat in District 21.

There were also two candidates running in the Democratic primary, P. H. Dencer of Bend and Fred W. Hyndman of Klamath Falls.

[48] Forbes and Burdick won Republican nominations while Hyndman was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

In early 1918, newspapers once again began to speculate about Forbes running for Speaker of the House in the next legislative session.

[55] However, before the speculation gained momentum, Forbes announced he would not seek a fourth term in the House.

[1][56] While the regular 1917 legislative session was over, Forbes continued to serve out his two-year term, which lasted through the end of 1918.

Back in central Oregon, Forbes continued his law practice and remained active in government affairs.

[57] On July 7, 1918, Forbes and a friend, Ralph Poindexter, went fishing at Crescent Lake, 65 miles (105 km) south of Bend.

[3][5][58][59] Additional searches were conducted at the lake, but the water at the accident site was approximately 200 ft (61 m) deep and the initial recovery effort proved unsuccessful.

[61][62][63] Funeral services for Forbes were held at the Bend Amateur Athletic Club on July 20, 1918.

[64] The local Knights of Pythias lodge held a memorial service on July 19, 1918, and passed a resolution of condolence which was forwarded to the Forbes family.

Later that year, the Deschutes County Bar Association held a special memorial service for Forbes.

[1][18][65] A year after his death, Bend's newly chartered Elks lodge held a memorial service for Forbes.

His fellow Elks credited him with founding the local lodge, even though the charter was not approved until after his death.