\u201cThis governance change, I think, will create more opportunities for the vision of the current board members to be actualized,\u201d fairgrounds board member Jean Cohen, who is also executive officer of the South Bay Labor Council, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThere will be more attention and resources from the county to help with the master planning processes, ensuring the full potential of the fairgrounds is realized.\u201d<\/p>\n
Board Chair Vicky Bosworth has been involved with the fair for most of her life and has expressed doubt about the governance changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not feel they are necessary, but they will happen whether or not we approve them, so my voting for this stems from the idea of, if we can\u2019t stop it, let\u2019s see if we can have some control over how the change takes effect,\u201d Bosworth told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cI\u2019m not sure two volunteer board members is enough because the fairgrounds is truly a volunteer piece of property.\u201d<\/p>\n
The county\u2019s proposal came after a period of questionable fiscal and operational stewardship<\/a> under the fairgrounds\u2019 old executive director, Abe Andrade. In a report published earlier this year, county auditors found fairgrounds management contracted with vendors who were family members of fairgrounds officers and employees between 2017 to 2023, when Andrade was in charge. The report also found fairgrounds leadership made payments to vendors with no formal agreements and failed to select contractors through competitive bidding. Auditors also found the Fairgrounds Management Corporation farmed core planning duties out to third party consultants.<\/p>\n Andrade left his role in 2024 and was succeeded by Salene Duarte.<\/p>\n Bosworth said things have turned in the right direction under Duarte\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the former executive director, we as the board learned a ton. We saw where we lapsed and stepped up to the plate and that\u2019s what Salene was doing. We were just getting momentum,\u201d Bosworth said. \u201cShe has really turned not only the revenue of the fairgrounds around, but also the ambience and attitude of the staff working there. Everyone\u2019s excited about it and they want to be here, largely due to her influence as a leader.\u201d<\/p>\n Other members of the community welcome the governance changes.<\/p>\n \u201cI certainly feel what they\u2019re proposing is warranted and needed,\u201d Megan Davies, a parent of three Gilroy High School students working to become farmers, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Davies and other parents were in uproar<\/a> earlier this year after fairgrounds officials changed the date of the annual fair to keep their carnival contracts. Instead of the traditional month of July, the fair will instead be held Aug. 19-23. Junior livestock parents said the new dates would force their children to balance their participation in junior livestock shows with their first week of school, and mean three extra weeks of financial burden to feed and care for livestock.<\/p>\n
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