Kathy Kramer– Voice of OC

Equality & Equity

OC Fair Reopens Friday As Debates Over Its Identity, Policies Could Reshape Local Image

by Brandon Pho Jul 14, 2021Oct 4, 2026 Why you can trust Voice of OC

As the OC Fair reopens this Friday in-person, debates over the fair’s identity, role, and image persist.

NEWS

OC Fair Audit Shows $220K in Improper Expenses, Travel, and Unreported Theft

by Brandon Pho Jun 22, 2020Oct 4, 2026 Why you can trust Voice of OC

The audit spans a year, 2018, in which the OC Fair and Events Center was under leadership of former CEO Kathy Kramer, who was fired by the Fair Board in late 2019.

State, Top Stories

Whistleblower Hearing Set for Friday Over Fired OC Fairgrounds Executive

by Brandon Pho Mar 13, 2020Oct 4, 2026 Why you can trust Voice of OC

The informal State Personnel Board hearing is scheduled to be held in Rancho Cucamonga, more than a year after Carleton was put on paid administrative leave by then-fairgrounds CEO Kathy Kramer.

Investigative, News Briefs, State

OC Fair Board Appoints New CEO

by Brandon Pho Dec 13, 2019Oct 4, 2026 Why you can trust Voice of OC

Fair officials appointed Michele Richards, a former executive staffer who’s promising a new era of transparency for the state agency amid years of controversy leading to the October ousting of Richards’ predecessor, Kathy Kramer.

Investigative, State

OC Fairgrounds CEO Sacked

by Brandon Pho Oct 30, 2019Oct 4, 2026 Why you can trust Voice of OC

OC Fair Board Directors have ousted their embattled CEO, Kathy Kramer, following recent controversy over her fundraising relationship with a private Christian college and news she’s leaving the county for another fair agency in Washington early next year. Kramer is alleging board retaliation for participating in a 2018 investigation into allegations of misconduct by two former board members.

Investigative, NEWS, State

OC Fairgrounds CEO Kathy Kramer to Leave Post

by Brandon Pho Oct 15, 2019Jul 8, 2021 Why you can trust Voice of OC

Fair officials confirmed Kramer’s departure, which comes after Voice of OC revealed Kramer sat on the fundraising board for a private college that the fairgrounds has given state money to.

Investigative, NEWS, State, Top Stories

OC Fairgrounds Gave More than $100K in State Money to Private College while Fairgrounds CEO Sat on the School’s Fundraising Board

by Brandon Pho Oct 9, 2019Oct 4, 2026 Why you can trust Voice of OC

Orange County Fairgrounds CEO Kathy Kramer joined the fundraising board for Vanguard University, a private Christian college, in 2017. Since then, the fairgrounds has paid the school over $100,000 in contracts and sponsorship deals brought up to the fairgrounds Board of Directors by her staff.