Fairly unreported trip to Mexico

Del Mar Fair general manager Tim Fennell will soon be winging his way to balmy Mexico for free, thanks to a favorable ruling from the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission. An October 14 letter to Fennell from commission general counsel Zackery Morazzini outlined the situation: “You have been invited by Luden Entertainment, a non-governmental, nonprofit entity based in Mexico…to be a guest speaker at a Mexican Fairs and Festival conference in Leon, Mexico to be held in January 2014. You would speak at the conference about the organization and operations of the San Diego Fair. Luden Entertainment has offered to pay for all of your travel expenses in connection with this speech. You believe this visit will be not only beneficial to the San Diego County Fair but will also help expand relations with the fair industry of Mexico.” Based on those facts, Morazzini wrote, not only can Fennell accept the sizable gift in travel, lodging, and food, he won’t have to declare it on his annual personal statement of economic interest. The reason, said the lawyer, is that Luden “presumably operates exclusively in Mexico and does not otherwise appear to be the type of organization that would contract or engage in real estate activities” and with the fairgrounds. That said, Morazzini continued, “Although, as explained, it is unlikely that Luden Entertainment will have business before the Association at any point in the future, you must nevertheless be vigilant in the event it does, and disqualify yourself from participation in any governmental decision that would have a reasonably foreseeable material financial effect on that entity.” The opinion doesn’t say how long Fennell’s Mexico tour will last and doesn’t provide an estimate of the gift’s cash value.