Larry Agran, a home-grown politician credited for promoting Irvine's image as a prototype suburban Orange County city, is under fire for allegedly trying to use his mayoral post to enrich friends and political cohorts.
Agran, an attorney, is the target of critics who say that a major political supporter may benefit by the creation of a city utility and that other associates may profit from a huge park project the mayor initiated. They also note that he urged the city to use an ambulance company that donated to his chief political ally.
While the criticisms fall short of criminal accusations, a legal investigation has been requested. And the controversy suggests that the trappings of an old boys' network have moved into tidy Irvine, where neat, beige homes and manicured lawns surround tennis courts, parks and artificial lakes.
If the emerging brouhaha seems unlikely for Irvine, the source of the criticisms strikes City Hall insiders as even more surprising.
Leading the attack is City Councilman Chris Mears, an attorney and longtime Agran supporter. Two other council members, Christina Shea and Mike Ward, agree with Mears that Agran's connections and dealings look like conflicts of interest, and they have joined Mears in asking the city attorney to begin the process of a possible investigation.
The Mears-Agran alliance evaporated in February. Mears said he told Agran and Agran's longtime political associate, Ed Dornan, that he would no longer support the creation of an electric utility because Dornan had boasted to Mears that he would make money from the deal. Dornan denies it.
"This is the disintegration of a personal and political friendship that goes back 20 years, and I take no joy in it," Mears said in an interview.
Agran has called the criticisms baseless and politically motivated. He suggested during a contentious council meeting last month that Mears was lashing out because Agran threatened to withhold support for Mears' reelection. Mears called Agran a liar.
The accusations are expected to play prominently as the Nov. 2 election nears. Agran, on the council for 18 years and having served the maximum four years as mayor, is running again for a council seat. Mears, a four-year member of the council, announced in July that he would not seek reelection, saying he was fed up with Agran's political cronyism.
