Governor appoints 3 new Fair Board members

Gov. Jerry Brown recently appointed two labor leaders and a newspaper owner to serve on the Orange County Fair Board.

Added to the nine-member board, which governs the state-owned fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, are Sandra Cervantes and Robert Ruiz, both of Irvine, and Bao Nguyen of Garden Grove. All are Democrats.

The three replaced Joyce Tucker, Kristina Dodge and Ali Jahangiri. Tucker and Dodge had been on the Fair Board since 2006. Jahangiri started in 2010.

Cervantes, 53, is a real estate professional and owner of the Orange County Spanish-language newspapers Miniondas and Farandula USA, which she bought last year. Cervantes also manages a scholarship fund and is involved with the National Assn. of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals.

Ruiz, 45, is the secretary-treasurer of Laborers Local 652, a position he’s held since 2003. Ruiz has also served as a crew leader for a plumbing company and warehouse administrator for an electronics firm.

Nguyen, 33, is an organizer with the United Domestic Workers of America Local 3930. He serves on the school board for the Garden Grove Unified School District, a position he’s held since 2011.

He also serves on the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County’s Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

Nguyen has a bachelor’s degree from UC Irvine and master’s degree in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism from Naropa University in Boulder, Colo.

Fair Board positions are unpaid. Members serve four-year terms and can be reappointed by the governor.