Come help Derail The Sale of the Fairgrounds… Monday!

Aren’t you sick of backroom sweetheart deals rushed through in secret by politicians huddled together with their wealthy campaign contributors?  Yeah, me too.  And how about this whole shock-doctrine thing of selling off all public assets until there’s not a square inch around you that’s not the property of some corporation or individual?  Are you sick of that too?  Well, it’s not too late for us to DERAIL THE SALE of Orange County’s “crown jewels,” our fairgrounds.  Follow me over the flip for more details. 

There are lots of good reasons for us to fight against this sale.  Our sister blog the OC Progressive, which has been doing the most important work on the scandal, convincingly makes the point that the self-serving cabal known as the Fair Board has not only violated open meeting laws but have also “used public funds in a conspiracy that approaches racketeering.”  On top of that, Dick (H)ackerman, the just-termed-out Republican Senate leader, evidently broke the state law that was written to keep legislators from being lobbyists for at least one year, providing the cabal with invaluable lobbying and law-writing services mere months after his term expired.  But aside from all that, well… let’s quote the OC Progressive:

Aside from the ethics of the people who are doing this . . .  you might wonder what’s wrong with a benevolent non-profit running this operation. It’s pretty simple. The purchase price will need to be financed somehow, and it’s pretty obvious that the money will come from disposing of non-performing assets, which include all of the low-key, low-intensity uses like the equestrian center and the farm. Meanwhile existing uses will need to be squeezed for more revenue.

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Say goodbye to the low impact horse stables, 4-H clubs, the Centennial Farm, and the All American Boys Chorus. Say goodbye to a County Fair with blue ribbons, animals, local arts and crafts.

Say hello to new deals that make more money!

In a big way this planned sale is a huge unfair tax on Orange County; and we are already what is known as a “donor county” to Sacramento, paying far more in taxes than we see in benefits.

Of course this began as Governor Schwarzenegger’s brainchild, selling off state-owned properties all over California.  But in every other county, the politicians fought “tooth and nail” to protect the properties in their areas – San Francisco’s Cow Palace, the Del Mar Racetracks, the LA Coliseum.  But for some reason our Orange County legislators are different and rushed to embrace the sale of our “crown jewel” – Our two Democrats Solorio and Correa joining ALL but two Republicans (Props to Jim Silva and Mike Duvall for voting against the sale.  Note – I refrained from calling Mike “The Big Dripper” in this context, because I am giving him props.)

However, Solorio called this meeting on Monday, and seems to be interested in the public reaction, and we NEED him and Lou now to carry a bill to reverse this deal.  And we couldn’t help but notice that he has just joined the Facebook Group Derail the Sale.  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Costa-Mesa-CA/Derail-the-Sale/160282247295  So let’s show up there in Costa Mesa – wearing red to indicate STOPPING the sale – and let him see the breadth of the opposition!

I should also add that Melissa Fox, the charismatic candidate for Chuck DeVore’s old assembly seat, has been taking a great leadership role in this, and I’m sure we’ll get to hear her speak.  See you there – but FIRST, don’t forget MY CONCERT!