Delaware County Fairgrounds hosting Trump rally despite some resident and IRS concerns

When Donald Trump steps onto the stage at the Delaware County Fairgrounds on Saturday night, there will be those — likely at the fringes of the expected thousands — looking on in anger, not adoration.

Susan McLaughlin, a 54-year-old high school teacher, will be one of them.

The county fairgrounds, especially one that is walking distance from her home in downtown Delaware, should be reserved for livestock, 4-H clubs, midways and harness racing, she said.

"I don't think it should be used for any political purposes. It's just wrong," McLaughlin said. "It's not a place where people should be doing any political wrangling."

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McLaughlin and some others question whether the county fair board should be hosting a partisan political rally considering they are an IRS-approved 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization.

According to IRS code, nonprofit entities are prohibited from participating "directly or indirectly" in political campaigning.

Most county fairs, however, allow elected officials, such as sheriffs, auditors and prosecutors, to rent space in exhibition halls where they can distribute information and meet their constituents. They also host debates or candidate night events.

But some maintain that large rallies where candidates are running for office or endorsing others are inappropriate events for fairgrounds and shouldn't be allowed.

"I just was furious," McLaughlin said, upon learning of the rally last month. "I'm going to have to go. I totally want to see what's going on," she said.

Some fair boards have already turned down Trump rallies on their grounds including those in Geauga and Portage counties.

In a news story in The Record-Journal in Kent, officials said allowing a Trump rally would violate the fair's IRS status and that they "are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office."

The Federal Elections Commission says the IRS has the final say on the matter. The IRS could not be reached for comment Friday.

FEC spokesman Miles Martin] said he has been asked about rallies and tells people that they are permissible if the fair, in this case operated by the Delaware County Fair Board, charges the candidate fair market value to rent the facility.

The fair board is charging Save America, Trump's political action committee, $15,000 for the use of the fairgrounds from April 20 through Sunday, according to a signed contract requested by The Dispatch.

Chris Welker, interim fair manager, said that fee aligns with those for other big events.

Welker said that the fair board has no affiliation with Save America and is not hosting the rally, which will be held behind the grandstand in the midway area of the grounds.

"All we are doing is renting a space for their event. If any other party wanted to rent the grounds from us, we would charge the same," he said.

Delaware County is heavily Republican, including every county officeholder.

The county collects a bed tax, more than $1 million annually, for the fair, but has no say in how the fair operates or how it spends its money.

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Opponents are organizing a protest to the Trump rally that is to begin at 4 p.m. Saturday at Delaware Hayes High School, 289 Euclid Ave., in Delaware. A march is to follow to the east side entrance of the fairgrounds. Organizers say the protest will be "to show respect for the American flag and Democracy."

Mindy Hedges, a long-time Democrat from Radnor Township and one of the protest organizers, said allowing the use of the fairgrounds for a political rally was "atrocious."

"We subsidize our fairgrounds with tax dollars," she said. "It unduly influences children. There's a lot of 4-H groups showing throughout the year."

dnarciso@dispatch.com

@DeanNarciso

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Some other fair boards have rejected Trump rallies over IRS concerns