SHORT TAKES:O.C. Democrats beef up fair decorations with cow

The Democratic Party of Orange County painted a mural Saturday for the Orange County Fair, and sure enough, it featured a donkey. But the most prominent animal in the picture was the cow in the swimsuit.

Each of the last three years, the local Democrats have painted a mural to display above their booth at the fair and based the image on the fair’s theme. This year’s fair, which plans to include a cattle run, has the theme of “Herefords, Surfers and Sand” — so when the grass-roots political group assembled Saturday to begin painting a beach scene, they included a bovine in a bikini.

Party members gathered in the Costa Mesa backyard of Lora Piazza, whose brother, Frank Barbaro, is the chairman of the group. When the fair begins Friday, the mural will top the Democrats’ booth.

Marti Schrank, the volunteer coordinator for the Democratic Party of Orange County, said the paintings were an easy way to lure passersby to the group’s voter registration booth.

“People always comment about it,” she said. “They think it’s been done by professionals.”

— Michael Miller