Beazley and Ellis have taken the next step on their efforts at a land grab. They’ve allowed the state to put the fairgrounds up for sale. Watch now as Beazley and Ellis form a “non-profit” to buy the land for pennies on the dollar, then let their friends at AEG turn the fairgrounds into LA Live South. The traffic, noise and commotion it will cause for the local neighbors will be immaterial to Beazley and Ellis, who are looking to recreate a new non-profit board, which means… no more public meetings… no more public review of their inner workings… and you can bet their front-row tickets will be reinstated at the very least and don’t be surprised to see Ellis work as a “consultant” for AEG and reap thousands upon thousands of dollars so AEG has access to this prime real estate at a “best-friend” rate.
The City of Costa Mesa, the local neighbors, the Orange County Register and others better wake up to this scheme before it’s too late!
So you are saying that Beazley and Ellis “allowed” the governor to put the property up for sale? So, you are saying the governor needed their permission to put the property up for sale? So, you are saying that Beazley and Ellis control the governor? So, you are saying you are not delusional?
Bob_is_unfair, let me spell it out for you. Board member Ellis decides that the California budget mess is a great time to leverage a weak time in our state’s history for himself and his friends (AEG, Levy Brothers, Irvine Company…). With that said he can’t pull it off alone so he recruits the former Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman. The two of them and their pals lobby the Governor’s office, Secretary Fred Aguirre and Ackerman’s old pals in the Assembly and Senate to carry their water. Remember, the only property the state owns that is for sale is the OC Fair Grounds. Why? How about Del Mar, Coliseum, San Quentin? Reason, they didn’t have someone lobbying against them. Yes, AGAINST them. Most other politicians wouldn’t betray the local citizens and try to have private sector ownership of a public treasure. Anyway, Ellis needed OC Fair staff support to pull this off. Didn’t want the union getting in the way, needed sensitive and historical documents and information and why not have an inside cheerleader. Enter Beazley. Ellis feeds him a line that he will get the raise he deserves (not making this up! Ellis is on the record in board meetings stating that Beazley is dramatically underpaid and has even used this as one of the reasons why the property should be sold to the private sector) and plays to Beazley’s ego by promising him that the world will change for all and that Beazley will be able to run free with his crazy ideas (more Al’s Brain projects…). Funny part is that Ellis is playing Beazley. He has told several that he will bring in “real management” to run the operation as government employees don’t have the needed capacity to run such an operation (again one of his stated reasons to go private sector). Ok, now you have the scheme that has been run to date- so Ellis and company think- in the end it will be Ellis who will be played! In the very near future his organization will be blown up by scandal and then the property will be sold to another group. How about a very famous school with a great football team? Or how about a huge developer who can wait 5, 10, 15 years for “things to change”. These guys pulled a fast one to date, but they have no idea who they are dealing with in the real world. crazy how a bad economy, a governor on his way out the door, an ego maniac CEO and nefarious politicians and consultants have all come together for potentially the biggest scandal in our county’s history. Too bad the Haidls and Caronas are gone! Oh well, just time for a new group to hit the headlines!
The current fair board members that are on the newly formed oc fair foundation that claims not to talk about the ocfair (yeah right!) should resign. They are the ones who have caused this mess. Even those who have joined up unknowingly what kind of underhandedness was at play via Ellis. The people are speaking out and organizing because we are the ones who truly care about the fairgrounds as does the city council. This is our community facility and it is such a shame that board members, appointed by the governor, are at the helm to oversee a business they know nothing about. I hope the sale is rescinded soon and the fair board and current management team are asked to step down. What a shameful thing you all have done. if anyone is unfair it is the fair board and the ceo.