Irvine Mayor's Kingdom is Crumbling
OC Register Editorial
Oct. 10
As the November election approaches, the state's voters have been repeatedly warned that California is in danger of embracing a nonpartisan primary system shared by only one other state - Louisiana.
Most Californians don't realize that the state already has a Louisiana-style government in the heart of normally placid Orange County. In beige-colored Irvine, to be specific. No wonder the similarities aren't immediately apparent.
Irvine ain't Baton Rouge, but Huey Long (governor from 1928-1932) would have understood a kindred soul in Irvine Mayor Larry Agran. Both share similar politics, although Huey could stir the faithful into a frenzy with his stump speeches. Agran isn't too inspiring on the stump, but he too knows how to milk a populist cause - i.e., stopping the proposed international airport at El Toro.
Most significant, however, both have been adept at consolidating power and maintaining a chokehold on their respective governments by cleverly playing by their own rules and building bases of support using government power. Hence, the radical populist Long could maintain a grip on socially conservative Louisiana, and the left-wing Agran could maintain a grip on majority-Republican Irvine.
Gov. Long circumvented his state Legislature to implement his plans for the "little guy." Agran has circumvented the city's campaign finance laws so he can benefit from contributions from "big guy" developers.
Biographers called Long "the Kingfish." The biography has yet to be written on Agran, but interesting titles will come to mind if his kingdom crumbles around him come November, as now appears likely.
In the election, Agran is running for City Council, because he is term-limited as mayor. His ally, Beth Krom, is running for mayor, and the other members of his Democratic slate are Sukhee Kang and Debbie Coven. The alternative slate includes Republicans Greg Smith, Steven Choi and Mike House, with Mike Ward running for mayor.
No surprises on the surface: Democrats are running against Republicans. It is surprising, however, that many of Agran's usual liberal political allies, including fellow council member Chris Mears, UCI professor Mark Petracca and community activist Mitch Goldstone, have abandoned him, publicly accusing Agran of unethical behavior. All three endorsed Republicans Smith and Ward.
In a letter to fellow Democrats, Mears, Petracca and Goldstone wrote: "Sadly, we have come to question whether our city's business decisions, such as the proposed city utility and the enormous business to be done in developing the Great Park, are being driven by the extent to which friends and supporters of Larry Agran and Beth Krom are financially interested in the outcome."
Agran is accused of pushing forward a government-owned municipal utility project that would reportedly enrich his closest political adviser, Ed Dornan. Critics also point to landscaping entities started by Agran allies that stand to gain contracts from the park.
In a testy exchange, Agran told me that the charges are "baseless and defamatory" and issued veiled legal threats. He said that Dornan publicly denied any financial interest in the proposed energy project, and that he believes him. Agran emphasized that there is "no contract, no contingency."
"Larry is lying," Mears told me. "[Dornan] stood to make high-six to seven figures. That's what he told me."
"No, [Dornan] has not received any money because of an awarded contract," said Councilwoman Christina Shea. "But we are moving toward an awarded contract. [Dornan] has told many people, including the city manager, that he stands to benefit financially. Why does Agran keep pushing forward when staff says [the utility plan] is not feasible?"
Agran previously tried to steer bylaws for the Great Park board of directors that would have exempted appointees from conflict of interest and open-records requirements. Critics say he was trying to stack the board, with its control over billions of dollars of resources and contracts, with cronies who would have little accountability.
Mears told me Agran was trying to create a high-paying job for himself as the head of the Great Park conservancy, while still having his allies control the council.
"Larry thinks completely in terms of legal and illegal, rather than in terms of ethical and unethical," said candidate Smith.
The latest allegations come from a political foe, Republican Assembly candidate Chuck DeVore, but they too have much credibility. (The seat DeVore is running for includes Irvine.) Irvine has tough campaign-financing rules that limit contributions to $360 per person for mayoral and council candidates, but Agran's slate has figured out a way around them.
Agran's confidant, Dornan, runs what is called the Hometown Voter Guide. The guide collected money from an initiative campaign funded by developers, some of whom do business with the city. Developers gave money to the statewide Proposition 51 campaign in 2002, and the campaign passed money to Hometown Voter Guide to run slate mailers, which are supposed to champion a variety of candidates or initiatives.
Most slate mailers are a business - they collect funds and mail out lists of endorsements to voters. They're often dressed up to look like non-partisan and sincere endorsements, but usually everything is bought and paid for. HVG appears to be a vehicle to promote Agran and his allies, a way to channel money far in excess of campaign limits to influence Irvine council races. In one four-color mailer from the last election, almost all of the space was devoted to Agran and his council allies.
In a complaint filed in August with the state Fair Political Practices Commission, DeVore notes that slate mailer organizations cannot legally be controlled by a candidate, and the committee cannot be formed specifically to support a candidate, officeholder or ballot measure. DeVore believes HVG violates these (and other) rules.
HVG champions Agran and his allies, has the same address as Agran's officeholder committee and uses the same treasurer and printer as the committee, the complaint says. Agran and his running mates, DeVore argues in the complaint, received "$150,000 worth of advertising on $60,000 in expenditures, massively bypassing the city of Irvine's campaign financing ordinance. ... This was possible because Mr. Agran, then the mayor, solicited in excess of $150,000 in donations from developers, many with matters pending before the City Council, as a board member of the Planning & Conservation League, the sponsoring entity of Proposition 51." DeVore is seeking a suspension of Hometown Voter Guide activities in this election.
In response, in our conversation, Agran called DeVore a "blithering idiot." DeVore responded: "Better a blithering idiot than a corrupt politician."
DeVore admits that he has ideological reasons for opposing Agran, but his bottom line is the same reason former Agran allies are disgusted with the mayor: "I can't stand cheaters and corruption. ... I'm trying to clean up City Hall."
Mears, who was closely allied with Agran in the past and knows how this operation works, called Hometown Voter Guide "a pure conduit for money into the Agran-Krom campaign."
"Thirty years ago, Larry Agran would have raised the roof over people doing exactly what he is doing. He has become everything he used to despise," said Shirley Grindle, the campaign watchdog, who filed a still-pending complaint against Hometown Voter Guide with the notoriously slow-to-respond FPPC in 2001. "People get in power and they just can't handle it."
It's up to Irvine voters to decide that they want the city's government to be as clean as its image. If Irvine residents are longing for Louisiana, they should take a riverboat cruise up the Mississippi.
