Phu Nguyen, who is running for the 68th Assembly District (which includes Costa Mesa and the OC Fairgrounds) today released this statement:
Media Advisory
Contact: Khoi Ta (714) 251-1590
Fountain Valley. April 14, 2010
It’s very sad that we’ve got to the point where we Orange County citizens may be forced to buy back the Fairgrounds that already belong to us. Our grandparents paid for this local treasure with their hard-earned tax dollars so that we could enjoy it, and now we must do whatever we can to preserve it in perpetuity for our own grandchildren.
Whatever the solutions are to the political and fiscal failures in Sacramento, they should not include selling off precious public landmarks like the Orange County Fairgrounds, especially in such an underhanded and secretive process as we’ve seen here. When I’m your Assemblyman, this is not the way our business will be conducted.
Now Costa Mesa is being given a very short time to prepare a proposal, with the lurking threat that there are companies from as far away as Asia waiting in the wings with a better offer. We must do everything we can to keep this property in local, public hands, rather than foreign interests who care about nothing but maximizing their profits here.
But Sacramento needs to give Costa Mesa more time. So I’m asking my supporters to call the Governor at 916-445-2841, and fax him at 916-558-3160, and ask him to extend the deadline for Costa Mesa to work out this very complex deal.
Furthermore I strongly encourage all my friends in Costa Mesa to come out and vote yes on Measure C on June 8! Measure C will lock in the “general plan” the city has in place for the property; this is our last line of defense to make sure the Fair stays a Fair, no matter who buys it!
Like nearly all residents of our great county, I have many fond memories of attending the fair and other community events. My family and I cherish these experiences from watching the pig races to going to the farmer’s market and concerts. We need to ensure that future generations of Orange County residents have the opportunity to experience this historic and invaluable landmark.
The grass-roots movement to save the Fairgrounds has inspired us all and shown that when folks from all backgrounds and political persuasions get together for a good cause, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.
“…Orange County citizens may be forced to buy back the Fairgrounds that already belong to us”
Someone please explain to me what he meant by that.
The State which currently owns the fair grounds paid for it with taxpayer money.
The state is now selling the property possibly to the City of Costa Mesa, the taxpayers of Costa Mesa and Orange county already paid thier tax money to have the fair grounds here to the state.
Now the taxpayers of Orange County and Costa Mesa are being told by the State that if they want to keep it they have to pay the state a second time.
At least that is my understanding.
Ok, I change my mind about saying Phu was a smart man.
?? What Phu wrote was exactly correct.
Jesus Lam, you go back and forth on Phu like a flighty maiden!
Public property being purchased by the public. Yeah, that doesn’t seem right. The state needs to realize how important this is and either keep it or sell it to Costa Mesa for a nominal fee. If we don’t put our foot down the next thing the state will try to do is sell our freeway system to toll road operators just so we can pay more for something we used to own free and clear.
“Jesus Lam, you go back and forth on Phu like a flighty maiden!”
LMAO, that’s funny.
Vern, I’m a simple minded person when it comes to some issues. That piece of property belongs to somebody. Is it Federal, state or local? If it belongs to the state, then they have the right to sell it to somebody, even to the city where the property is located. The idea that people are being forced to buy something that already belong to them is BS. Lets not over analyze it.
We are state taxpayers, as were our grandparents when the property was acquired. By all rights it is OURS; it was put up for sale without any public consultation IN STARK CONTRAST to San Francisco which DEMANDED to keep their Cow Palace, LA which DEMANDED to keep their coliseum, DEL MAR which DEMANDED to keep their racetracks, and on and on.
Now, just in order to make sure it stays a Fair, Costa Mesa taxpayers are probably going to have to bite the bullet and take out a big loan to buy it. They’re buying it twice. That’s not overanalyzing. It’s real freaking injustice. And the blame lies primarily on the Fair Board – Dave Ellis mainly – and sleazy lobbyist Dick Ackerman.
Can anybody say double taxation, by our great Republican Governor?
Can’t find it in the state budget, steal it from the cities and the county. What a way to run a state!!!
Why are we different than San Francisco, LA and Del Mar? A bunch of big Republican donors wanted to turn in into a big project they could own and benefit from.