SAN DIEGO COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Loud Statement by Fair Board

It is often simpler to sidestep controversy than deal with it head-on. The Del Mar Fair board of directors is to be congratulated for tackling a touchy subject at a most inconvenient time--the eve of the annual fair.

The board ordered the fair’s general manager, Roger Vitaich, to take a paid administrative leave from his $81,888-a-year job while a complaint of sexual harassment made against him by an employee is investigated. The leave isn’t intended to imply guilt.

The board received the complaint about a month ago. Allan Royster, president of the board, responded quickly and properly. He issued a blanket invitation to the fair’s 125 employees to come to him, or other directors of their choosing, to discuss whether they had experienced any stress or harassment on the job. An undetermined number of employees did so.

On Monday, Vitaich was put on leave and the matter was turned over to the state Department of Food and Agriculture, which oversees California’s fairs.

The fair, which opened Tuesday, is being run under the supervision of Andrew Mauro, the second-in-command administrator.

Though fair visitors are unlikely to notice the change, removing Vitaich wasn’t an easy decision for the board to make. In his 11 years as fair manager, Vitaich, 53, has enjoyed many successes.

He comes from a background steeped in Boy Scout and 4-H executive management. He was hired to help fix the fair’s financial problems and bring a renewed sense of wholesome family values to the 20-day event. To a very large extent, he has accomplished this.

He is credited with overhauling the fair, ending its image as a sideshow of freaks in favor of a renewed emphasis on agricultural, hobby and vocational showcases.

To strip him of his responsibilities on the eve of the opening of the fair made a loud statement.

That statement says harassment won’t be tolerated; that employee concerns are heard and addressed; that this isn’t a board with an inclination toward sweeping things under the rug.