The Governor of California has a lot of awesome powers — directing vast agencies, holding sway over important (and no so important) pieces of legislation, and even, at times, literally holding power over life and death when death-row inmates approach their execution date. Still, with all of these important powers and responsibilities, it is sometimes the less influential appointments of a Governor that can create the most intrigue and drama. Yeah, I guess these days you could assume I am talking about the appointment of Judges — but I am actually talking about appointees to County Fair Boards (or in state-government-speak, "Agricultural Associations").
I don’t know how it is in other counties, but in Orange County where I live, an appointment to the Fair Board is something to be coveted and is a prized political possession. The OC Fair is a big event — this year’s event which just finished up brought in nearly a million visitors! The entertainment is first-notch, with many big name artists coming through, incentivized with big bucks that the Fair Board can shell out from selling all of those admission tickets!
All of these Fair Board appointments in the 58 counties (and the State Fair…a.k.a.. Cal Expo) are four-year appointments that do not require confirmation votes from the legislature. Once appointed, the recipient of the appointment is in that spot until the four-year term expires. No reneges by the Governor are allowed. Because of the four-year phenomenon, a typical Governor will eventually, over a full term, appoint every Fair Board member in the entire state. We have certainly watched as the OC Fair Board, which was all-GOP under Governor Wilson, and then turned predominantly Democrat under Gray Davis, has now swung back into firm GOP control.
This morning, the Governor announced his appointment of Newport Beach resident (and GOPer) Joyce Tucker (61) to the Fair Board. Joyce is a former teacher in the Orange Unified School District and spends much of her time volunteering in the community, including at the Center for the Performing Arts, and Museum of Art Visionaries, and the UCI Successful Aging Program. Joyce along with her husband, Tom, are prominent fixtures in the Orange County Republican scene. Tom is one of the founders and a former Chairman of the New Majority GOP donor organization, which has, of course, played a critical role in supporting both the Governor and his policy initiatives. Tom is a ‘Friend of the FlashReport’ (if you stay on the main page long enough, you can see a gracious quote from him rotate through on the annoying quote-of-the-minute feature).
Joyce, I know you will have a lot of decisions ahead of you. I humbly offer up three suggestions as you start your new adventure: 1) Try to book the music group Chicago for the Pacific Amphitheater, 2) Ban the fried avocados, and 3) Remember that it is much easier to agree with Debbie than to argue with her.
Congratulations!
P.S. You can see the official appointment release here. It’s worth noting that every appointee on this release is a Republican – yeah!
