Assembly bill would keep fairgrounds from being sold

Assemblyman Tom Daly (D-Anaheim) has introduced a bill that would prevent any future sale of the Orange County fairgrounds.

Assembly Bill 1907, introduced Thursday, would repeal a law that allows the California Department of General Services to sell the 150-acre property or any portion of it.

“The Orange County Fair & Event Center ranks among the best in the state and has clearly been a source of pride to people across Orange County,” Daly said in a statement. “And while Gov. [Jerry] Brown has made it clear that he does not support the notion of selling the land upon which the fair and event center sits and operates, the fact that this law exists means the door remains open to a future governor with a different perspective on the issue.”

Theresa Sears, a member of the Orange County Fair Preservation Society, which opposes a sale, commended Daly’s bill Friday. She noted that it came at the behest of two Orange County Fair Board directors, Nick Berardino and Ashleigh Aitken, who serve on a task force that monitors legislation.

“We’ve been supporting this notion ever since Brown pulled the plug,” Sears said. “We applaud Tom Daly for stepping forward, and the preservation society will do its part to help. It’s been a long time coming.”

In 2009, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed selling the fairgrounds to help ease the state’s budget deficit. The proposal was challenged and eventually scrapped by 2011 under Brown.

Allegations were made as to the legality of a sale, though two Orange County district attorney’s office investigations concluded that no Fair Board members committed any wrongdoing.