When it comes to the Orange County Fairgrounds, state Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana) is “now recommending to the Governor that he
consider dropping the sale altogether,” according to a statement released by his office.
Solorio had been working to get legislation passed in the Legislature that would have authorized
the sale of the 150-acre, state-owned property to the city of Costa Mesa.
His statement explaining how it all came apart follows after the jump . . .
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September 7, 2010
Assemblyman Solorio Issues Statement Regarding His Current Position on the Sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds
SACRAMENTO, CA – State Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim) issued
this statement today regarding the legislation necessary to authorize
the Orange County Fairgrounds sale agreement between the City of Costa
Mesa and the State of California.
“I have offered several legislative ideas to the City of Costa Mesa
that would make their proposal to buy the Orange County Fairgrounds
more acceptable in the Legislature.<
“In particular, I provided them with suggestions on ways to
strengthen the governance provisions, protect employee jobs during the
transition, and prioritize their rental income for use in the impacted
area. I also requested that they remove the tax loophole that would
essentially take money from schools throughout the state so the operator
can pay the city rent money.
“The City has responded to these ideas, but as it stands now, there
is still a gap in how far they will go and what I think would be minimum
concessions to enable me and others to defend the proposal in the
Legislature. As a result, I am now recommending to the Governor that he
consider dropping the sale altogether.
“Since the Legislature is working on budget bills now, there is
still time for Costa Mesa to pursue legislation to purchase the
fairgrounds. However, I can't defend their current proposal or justify
why the State should allow them to make so much money from property that
belongs to all Californians.”
State Assemblyman Jose Solorio is the Chair of the Assembly
Insurance Committee and serves on the Assembly Appropriations, Local
Government and Transportation Committees. He represents the Sixty-Ninth
Assembly District, which includes the cities of Anaheim, Garden Grove,
and Santa Ana.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.