Fair… Grounds? Harris Says Equity Must Finally Match the Name

Harris holds news conference to unveil the proposals at the fairgrounds on November 17,2025 a day before the state commission met for it's final meeting. (San Diego Monitor News)

By San Diego Monitor News Staff

DEL MAR — The push for greater equity, diversity, and accountability at the Del Mar Fairgrounds reached a new level last week as San Diego Public Advocate Shane Harris appeared before the 22nd District Agricultural Association’s State Commission to urge the adoption of two major policy proposals his office prepared and submitted ahead of the commission meeting. Harris held a press conference ahead of the commission meeting.

Harris, who serves as the head of the Office of the Public Advocate Shane Harris, delivered remarks last Tuesday calling on the state-appointed commissioners to confront what he has labeled the “Diversity Deficit” — a longstanding lack of diverse representation among the Fairgrounds’ administrative leadership and within its public-facing processes.

The effort comes amid a recent lawsuit filed by a former woman executive at the Del Mar Fairgrounds has intensified scrutiny on the institution’s internal culture. The complaint alleges that senior administrators used racially charged language in the workplace, including referring to a colleague as “a Black lady” during internal discussions and describing a job applicant as “he is Black” when discussing a background check. According to the suit, these incidents reflect deeper cultural problems within the administrative offices and demonstrate a pattern of racially influenced decision-making. The allegations have raised concerns among civil rights observers who say the Fairgrounds, as a state-owned public entity, must meet higher standards of equity and accountability.

Harris issued two comprehensive policy proposals to the Commission: a Workforce Equity Analysis, aimed at examining administrative hiring, leadership representation, workplace culture, and retention practices; and he issued a Vendor Disparity Study, intended to evaluate equitable access to vendor opportunities for small businesses and businesses owned by people of color. Harris held a news conference at the fairgrounds Monday to announce them and share his concerns ahead of the state commission meeting.

Harris shared the following statement on his efforts “San Diegans deserve a Fairgrounds that represents them — all of them. This place is funded by our taxpayers and attended by our families. Addressing the Diversity Deficit is not optional; it’s a responsibility.”

The Public Advocate office is not a government agency or an organization, but rather a non-governmental, social-policy office Harris established to address regional issues and highlight inequities in public systems. He emphasized that his proposals were submitted independently of any legal matters, noting that while a recent lawsuit filed by a former woman executive at the Fairgrounds contains allegations of racially charged statements, he has no affiliation with the case.

Beyond staffing and vendor diversity, Harris raised concerns via a letter regarding the Fairgrounds’ 2050 planning outreach, which he argued failed to include diverse communities — particularly Southeastern San Diego and City Heights — in its strategic open house tour. He called for a comprehensive reworking of the outreach effort to better reflect the communities that have historically supported the Fairgrounds.

Harris also acknowledged recent leadership changes on the state commission, praising Governor Gavin Newsom for his “thoughtful appointments,” including Board Chair Sam Nejebat, Mark Arabo, and Donna DeBerry among other Newsom appointments and he noted that the commission is filtering off "the old guard".

“This Commission has an extraordinary opportunity to make the Fairgrounds more inclusive, more representative, and more connected to the people it serves,” Harris said.

In his closing remarks, Harris requested that the Commission’s People and Culture Committee, along with Chair Nejebat, meet with him to walk through the proposals in more detail. He also urged that the proposals be agendized for discussion at the Commission’s January or February meetings, ensuring the work continues as the new year begins.

As the final Commission meeting of the year convened the call for action resonated across a room filled with observers hoping for change. Whether the Commission moves to adopt any of the proposed reforms will become clearer in early 2026, when the next agenda is finalized.