WATSONVILLE—The two Santa Cruz County Board members who voted against firing former CEO Dave Kegebein during a Oct. 4 meeting were terminated from their positions Friday in abrupt phone calls from the Governor’s office.
Because county fairgrounds are owned by the state, fair board members are appointed by the governor. A representative from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office did not return a call for comment Friday evening.
Loretta Estrada, who has held the seat for 34 years, and Jody Belgard, who has done so for 16 years, received calls late in the afternoon from a woman who gave them the news before hanging up without further comment.
“She said, ‘the Governor has decided to go in a different direction’ and hung up,’” Estrada said. “She didn’t even say thank you for 34 years of service.”
Still, Estrada said she wasn’t surprised by the call after she and Belgard voted not to fire Kegebein after an audit showing, among other things, he used a state-issued credit card to purchase fuel for his truck, which he used for his work at the fair. At issue was not the purchases, but the fact that he did not submit receipts to the state.
Estrada said she was planning on resigning at the meeting on Oct. 25. Her concern now is for the future of the facility.
“My direction was always to improve the Fairgrounds, and make it beautiful, and the Rodgers House and the garden,” she said. “I’ve lived for the past two years under a lot of pressure, and many nights I’ve come home crying. But life will go on.”
Belgard also said she has been waiting for the call, saying that the no votes were in defiance of the California Department of Food and Agriculture officials who attended the meeting.
“I feel like I’ve put in 16 years, and I’ve done a lot of great things,” she said. “I’m proud of what I’ve done and I’m proud for standing up for my beliefs by not firing Dave Kegebein.”
Belgard pointed out that Kegebein worked without a paycheck for two years as the Fairgrounds rebounded from near bankruptcy.
“We now have $1.7 million in the bank because of Dave Kegebein,” she said.
In a press release Friday, the Governor’s office said that Watsonville Parks and Community Services Director Nicolas Calubaquib and California School Boards Association Public Affairs and Community Engagement Representative Rachel Wells have been appointed to fill the positions.
Don Dietrich, who took over as CEO in the wake of Kegebein’s dismissal, said he was surprised by the state’s actions, and said he did not know why it happened.
He said that the past two years have been “tumultuous.”
“My focus right now is getting the Fairgrounds on track and moving forward, because it is a huge resource for the community,” he said. “And we’re going to keep providing a resource for what the community need.”
The Fair Board will discuss recruiting a new CEO at the Oct. 25 meeting, Dietrich has said.
it does appear the fairgrounds is changing the ones in charge and changing direction. but their method of dismissal, while callous, is typical in this century. if they were in an office, they would have been given 15 minutes to gather their belongings and then escorted by security to their car.
Was this retaliation for their vote?
Who cares?