Services Pending...

INSULT TO INJURY
As disappointing as it was Tuesday night when the Costa Mesa City Council hastily voted to approve an incomplete Fairgrounds lease contract - one with many important issues remaining to be resolved - despite the efforts of Councilwoman Katrina Foley to have those issues addressed and the lease returned for a special meeting for a vote next Tuesday before their Study Session, even more disappointing are the recent comments by Assemblymen Jose Solorio and Van Tran on this issue.

SOLORIO DUG THE HOLE...
Yesterday afternoon, as the City Council was heading into a closed session to discuss the Fairgrounds lease, Solorio issued a press release in which he expressed extreme displeasure with the deal hammered out between the City and Facilities Management West and said he was recommending to the Governor to simply cancel the deal.

TRAN ROLLED THE BODY IN...
Then, Wednesday, Tran tossed more shovels of dirt on the grave of this deal with his first official comment on the subject in months. He is quoted in news accounts as stating, "All vital signs tell me that this entire deal is in intensive care."

ACTIVISTS SHOVELED IN THE DIRT...
Many activists, convinced that this deal was done with the devil, are rejoicing at the prospects of the sale being killed.

LAST RITES COMING
It seems to me that we will soon be seeing a priest at City Hall, ready to offer the last rites to this deal - something that will make many self-anointed "Save the Fair" advocates euphoric.

DISREGARDING LOCAL ZONING IS POSSIBLE
However, even if the Governor does cancel THIS sale, there's nothing to keep the Department of General Services from proceeding with it's new Request for Proposals and consummating an even more onerous deal. That's right - the State could negotiate with interested buyers a much more draconian deal from the City's standpoint - one that might cut out local zoning regulations and the recently-passed Measure "C".

THE "FAIR" CAN GO ELSEWHERE
And, if such a deal is cut, there is no guarantee in the RFP that a Fair must be part of the mix of uses, freeing the 32nd District Agricultural Association (the Fair Board) from seeking new digs for it's Fair. Does the name "Great Park" spring to mind? It should!



A WORSE DEAL IS POSSIBLE
All those activists cheering over the grave of this deal should be careful what they ask for. Some of those folks are avid equestrians. If the 150 acres at 88 Fair Drive are sold to a developer of , say, outlet malls or a chicken farmer, what will happen with the horses?

A TIME FOR MOURNING
No, I fear that if this deal is, indeed, quashed by Solorio, Tran and the Governor, there will be no joy in Costa Mesa as the other sale process moves forward. The DGS professes that they want a deal struck before the end of the year. That gives you plenty of time to have your funeral duds cleaned and pressed in time to say a few words over the moldering carcass of our once proud Fairgrounds.

MANSOOR'S BIGOTRY TO BLAME
Personally, despite Solorio and Tran blaming other reasons for turning their backs on the Costa Mesa deal at this late hour, I think the anger expressed by the Latino Caucus of the legislature about Mayor Allan Mansoor's recent "rule of law city" resolution had much to do with their decision to abandon our city. While that anger is understandable, I'm disappointed in both of them for permitting it to cloud their judgment and potentially place the future of the Fairgrounds in jeopardy.

TRAN HAS BEEN NO HELP...
Tran, has basically been the invisible man in this process. He's the one who should have been crafting the legislation to make this sale work, but he wasn't. No, he can't afford to appear to be siding with Mansoor on any issue right now because that would put a real crimp in his campaign among Latino voters as he attempts to unseat Loretta Sanchez.

SEND SOLORIO AND TRAN A NOTE
So, if this deal is, in fact, killed by the Governor, don't bother sending flowers. Instead, send a little note to Solorio and Tran letting them know how you feel. I'm sure they will appreciate your views.

Solorio Won't Block Fairgrounds Sale!

GOOD NEWS TONIGHT!
At just before 6:00 p.m. today Mona Shadia reported in the Daily Pilot that Assemblyman Jose Solorio has stated that he will not block the sale of the Orange County Fair and Event Center based on Mayor Allan Mansoor's "Rule of Law City" resolution. You can read her entire article HERE. As you know, there has been much speculation that the Latino caucus of the legislature would, in fact, block the passage of legislation required for the deal to go through.

SOLORIO DIDN'T SAY HE WOULD SUPPORT THE SALE, YET
Solorio did not state that he will support the sale, though. He hedged that bet, indicating that he will do what he feels is right for Orange County residents and the State of California.

VAN TRAN ALSO ON BOARD
Lame duck Assemblyman Van Tran, whose seat Mansoor is trying to acquire this November, is quoted in the article as having the opinion that his colleagues in the Assembly are concerned about the City's resolution, he does not believe they will oppose the sale of the fairgrounds because of it.

STILL MUCH WORK TO BE DONE
This is good news at a time when there certainly is a need for some. There's still a long row to hoe in this process, including finalizing the nuts and bolts of the agreement between the Orange County Fairgrounds Authority and Facilities Management West. The clock continues to tick as we await the legislation to be passed and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger so this deal can be completed.

Final Election Results & Fairgrounds Deal?

ALL BALLOTS COUNTED
According to the Registrar of Voters office this morning, all the ballots have been counted and the numbers are final. They will be certified tomorrow. So, for the last time (probably) here are the local election results from the Primary Election on June 8th.



LESS THAN 1/3 VOTED!
Fewer than one-third of the registered voters made their way to the voting booth - or took their time to cast a ballot via mail or any other way. To the more than 1.2 million of Orange County voters who didn't participate in the process - when things don't go the way you want, if your elected representatives don't do what you want, just muzzle yourselves. If you don't participate you don't get to gripe about it later.
REPUBLICANS OUT-VOTE DEMOCRATS
More than twice as many Republicans voted than did Democrats. Republicans (42.8%) turned out in a much higher ratio than did Democrats (28.8%). Let's hope that trend holds in November.TRAN IN TROUBLE
Van Tran is going to have a tough time against Loretta Sanchez in November.
GIDDYAP, LATINOS!
Allan Mansoor tallied more than 22,000 votes in the primary, 69.3% of the Republican vote in the district. It looks like he may just waltz to victory for the 68th Assembly seat being vacated by Tran using the same strategy he followed four years ago - to ride the backs of the Latino population in his district to victory. Unless Phu Nguyen can motivate his base to turn out in large numbers in November, Mansoor will end up in Sacramento in January.
MUSIC STOPPED - LEECE LEFT WITHOUT A SEAT
Wendy Leece missed a seat in the 68th Assembly District Republican County Central Committee, finishing more than 900 votes behind the 6th place finisher. Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commissioner Jeff Mathews finished 5th in the voting, more than 1,000 votes ahead of Leece.MEASURE "C" OVERWHELMING
The final count for Measure "C", the General Plan Designation of the Orange County Fair and Event Center, finished with an even 13,000 voters (87.7%) screaming loud and clear that they want the Fairgrounds to remain as it is - a fairgrounds. We'll see how this result affects the possible sale.FAIRGROUNDS DEAL MAY BE ANNOUNCED
Incidentally, rumor has it that the deal between the City, the State and Facilities Management West nearly went down in flames last week a couple times but, following a marathon session on Saturday, it looks like there may be agreement. We should find out on Tuesday, when the joint powers authority, the Orange County Fairgrounds Authority, meets in both closed and open session following the special council meeting that was called to attempt to get a budget passed.

Primary Count Almost Complete

30% VOTER TURNOUT
Well, the counting continues and not much is happening in the way of change. I checked the Registrar of Voters office this afternoon and find that just under 26,000 votes remain to be counted in Orange County. So far not quite 30% of the eligible voters cast ballots in the Primary election. I expect the final tally to be available by the weekend. I'll report on it next week.
REPUBLICANS OVER DEMOCRATS
42% of the registered Republicans voted while only a little over 28% of the Democrats cast a ballot.


TRAN HAS A TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
In the 47th District Congressional race, Republican Van Tran captured just under 55% (10,514) of the votes while Democrat Loretta Sanchez received all the Democrat votes - 17,010.
MANSOOR VS. NGUYEN
In the 68th Assembly District, Democrat Phu Nguyen (9,934 or 58.8% of the votes) will face Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor (21,752 or 69.3% of the votes) in November.
LEECE STILL OFF THE PACE
In the race for one of six seats available in the Republican Central Committee for the 68th Assembly District Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Leece is in 7th place, just about 1,000 votes behind the 6th place person. Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commissioner Jeff Mathews is in 5th place and seems secure in that slot.
MEASURE "C"!
Costa Mesa's Measure "C", which locks in the zoning for the Orange County Fair and Event Center, has passed in a landslide, 87.7% Yes to 12.3% No.

All Precincts Counted...

LOW TURNOUT, AS EXPECTED
With all the precincts accounted for, fewer than 20% of all Orange County registered voters chose to cast a ballot on June 8th. Of the 1,603,312 registered voters, only 316,297 (19.7%) voted and just under half of those, 146,128, chose to vote by mail. County-wide, only 97,703 (18.9%) of Democrats voted, while 196,659 (28.3%) of Republicans cast a ballot.

MEASURE "C" WINS RESOUNDINGLY
In the race that hit closest to home, Costa Mesa's Measure "C" - which locks in the current zoning of the Orange County Fair and Event Center property if it is sold by the State - only 9,864 registered voters (17.1%) decided the fate of that property. Of those, 8,599 (87.2%) voted "Yes". Yep, 5/1000ths of the registered voters in Orange County said, "We want the Fairgrounds to remain a Fairgrounds!" Now, let's see if we can actually put a deal together...

MANSOOR TROUNCES PHAM - WILL MEET PHU NGUYEN
In the 68th Assembly race nearly 23% of the 134, 626 registered voters turned out. 15.5% of registered Democrats voted, giving Phu Nguyen 57.7% of their votes. 22.8% of the registered Republicans voted, and gave Allan Mansoor 76% of their votes, defeating Long Pham by more than 10,000 votes. He received 48.2% of the TOTAL votes cast in that district. What does this mean for November? Who the heck knows?!

SANCHEZ FACES VAN TRAN IN NOVEMBER
In the 47th Congressional district, only 9379 (9%) of the registered Democrats turned out, but gave Loretta Sanchez all their votes. 10,900 (15.8%) registered Republicans voted and gave Van Tran 5,453 (50%) of their votes. The November election should be very interesting in this race.

WENDY WINS IN MUSICAL CHAIRS
Oh, yes. It looks like Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Leece nosed-out Supervisor Janet Nguyen, 6,564 to 6,509, for the final seat in the 68th Assembly District Republican County Central Committee. She joins Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commissioner Jeff Mathews, who finished 3rd for the six seats.

COSTA MESA COUNCIL RACES WILL SOON BEGIN
Now comes the really fun part - the announcement of candidates for Costa Mesa City Council for the November election. Two seats will be contested - Wendy Leece's seat, which she is expected to defend, and Allan Mansoor's vacant seat.

Solorio Provides Hope

SOLORIO LAUNCHES BILL TO QUASH SALE
The Daily Pilot announced this afternoon that Assemblyman Jose Solorio has authored a bill to rescind the sale of the Orange County Fair and Events Center, HERE.



ASKED GOVERNOR TO CANCEL SALE, TOO
According to the article by Mona Shadia, AB 1590 was introduced by Solorio in a Special Session of the Assembly. According to her article, Solorio's staff also presented a letter to the governor's office staff requesting that he stop the sale.

HOPE?
This, of course, is terrific news and should give those of us who want to see the Fairgrounds remain as they are in the future some hope.



INVESTIGATION SHOULD CONTINUE, REGARDLESS
However, I agree with some of those folks commenting on the article that some serious attention needs to be paid to just what happened on this issue. The investigation of the circumstances of the current Fair Board forming a non-profit to acquire the Fairgrounds and it's hiring (maybe illegal hiring) of former Senator Dick Ackerman to lobby Sacramento to get the Fairgrounds put on the block in the first place should continue. This whole thing reeks. How do we trust those folks in the future?

DON'T LET OUR GUARD DOWN YET
I'm sure this news will cause many who have been fully immersed in this issue for months to give a big sigh of relief. However, this dance isn't over yet. In my opinion, we must continue to keep our boiler fired up and be ready to pursue the fight if Solorio's bill doesn't pass.

VAN TRAN, THE INVISIBLE MAN
It's curious that our assemblyman, Van Tran, has been virtually invisible on this subject since the hearing he hosted with Solorio. For him to take such a posture while he's planning his run for Loretta Sanchez' seat in the House of Representatives is curious, at least. I suspect the voters will be reminded of his lack of visible support as next year's election approaches.

Who, Me? & More Fairgrounds Sale Stuff

GRACIAS, DAILY PILOT EDITORS
First thing off the bat, let me thank the editors of the Daily Pilot for their very kind and completely unexpected selection of yours truly as part of the annual DP 103 list. The DP 103 is always a fun publication in which we are reminded of the contributions many of our friends and neighbors make to the quality of our lives. I'm honored and humbled to be included in this year's list - along with two shopping centers, one golf resort, a hospital, the O.C. Fairgrounds and "the recession". Yep, I'm in good company down there at #101. Thanks to Brady Rhoades and his crew for the selection, and to all the other folks on the list for their very real contributions. This is pretty heady stuff for an old guy with too much time on his hands.

Back to the serious stuff - the seemingly never-ending drama around the Orange County Fair and Events Center.

FAIR BOARD MEETING "VISITORS" (Note: Change below)
Thursday the Fair Board had their regularly-scheduled meeting and were visited by, according to all reports, over 150 enthusiastic visitors intent on stopping the sale of the Fairgrounds. Although I did not attend, members of the local media did a good job of providing us with coverage. You can read the Daily Pilot coverage HERE and the Daily Voice coverage HERE.

CONSPIRACY?
Gus Ayer at the OC Progressive Blog has a very interesting new development, HERE, in which he presents a time line that demonstrates that the Fair Board created it's new non-profit foundation to buy the Fair well in advance of the passage of AB22 by the legislature and before the governor signed it. There is innuendo that former State Senator Dick Ackerman was hired as a de facto lobbyist by the Fair Board to facilitate the creation of AB22 at a time when it was illegal for him to perform such work. I'm having a very hard time with what looks like a "fixed" issue - the Fair Board deciding the State should sell the Fairgrounds, then hiring a guy to make it happen and forming a foundation to buy it on the cheap. The stench of this situation is palpable!

RIGGY REJECTS OPPOSITION
Skimming the local blogs and Facebook pages produces some interesting situations, too. It seems that Costa Mesa Planning Commission Chairman Jim Righeimer - who started a movement to ostensibly "save the fair" - may have less altruistic motives. Apparently, several comments have been deleted or failed to be posted on Riggy's Save the Fair Facebook page. When confronted about this at the Fair Board meeting those in attendance report his reaction to be "childish", and that the comments deleted were "negative". Well, duh, Riggy - there are folks around who differ with your view of the world - get used to it. That stench mentioned above is lingering around Riggy, too. He's too tight with the GOP power structure and guys like Fair Board Vice Chair Dave Ellis for my comfort zone.

BOGUS CITY FACEBOOK PAGE UNEARTHED
Late this afternoon, after the original publication of this entry, I was made aware of a bogus Facebook page, designed to look like an official City of Costa Mesa page, which has a very obvious slant toward Righeimer's Save the Fair organization. It originally used the official city seal, which has subsequently been replaced by a logo. This site is obviously an attempt to further muddy the waters regarding just whom thinks what about the Fairgrounds sale. This has a familiar odor to it very similar indeed to other Riggy actions.

LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR ON AGENDA
In the agenda for next Tuesday's City Council meeting there is an item for the council to consider which strongly recommends they send a letter directly to the governor requesting him to quash the sale of the Fairgrounds. It seems advisable for those parties interested in this issue to make their feelings known that evening.

LAME DUCK TRAN
Although Assemblyman Van Tran pledged (to the press, mainly) that he will carry a bill to the legislature to quash the Fairgrounds sale, I'm thinking that such a bill has a much better chance of making it through if was co-authored by Assemblyman Solorio. Van, as a lame duck Republican in the Assembly, doesn't carry much weight. Solorio should sign on, too.

WRITE TO SOLORIO
So, here's a suggestion for you. Fire off an email to Assemblyman Jose Solorio through his legislative aide, John Nam, requesting him to either join Tran on a bill or to generate one on his own. Here's Nam's email address: john.nam@asm.ca.gov. I spoke with John today and he guaranteed to me that Solorio would see every email on this subject.

WEEKEND VIEWING
In the meantime, neighbors, here a couple reminders of what we're talking about here. You can view them over and over again throughout the weekend. Enjoy.

KYLE'S ORANGE COUNTY FAIR ADVENTURE

OC EQUESTRIAN CENTER BIG SUNDAY