Dirty Politics: Another Anonymous Political Mailer Sent to Irvine Residents
Irvine residents have again reported receiving anonymous political mail attacking Councilman Larry Agran. The postcard shown above is the second mailer sent anonymously in recent weeks. As previously reported by the Irvine Watchdog, an earlier mailer was received by a number of residents in September.
The prior mailer promoted what it called the “Irvine Four”, which are all of the current city council members except for Councilman Agran. Like the postcard above, the prior mailer piece had the same unusual wording of “Our Friends” on the address label, indicating a possible connection.
Who is Behind the Mailers?
The individuals or organizations behind these mailers failed to disclose their identities. Hence, as the investigations continue, we can only speculate on who might most likely finance mailers like these.
Here are few questions to consider:
- Who has the most to gain financially from preventing Agran’s re-election?
- What special interests have a history of dirty money and these kinds of shady campaign tactics in Irvine elections?
- What political candidate or campaigns might have an interest in diminishing Agran early in the 2022 election cycle?
These Mailers Lack Transparency and May Violate the Law
The most recent mailer is another possible violation of the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) Political Reform Act. The FPPC requires disclosures on mailers like this one to “promote transparency in government and to foster public trust in the political system.”
The Transparency organization Open Secrets writes, “Citizens who are barraged with political messages paid for with money from undisclosed sources may not be able to consider the credibility and possible motives of the wealthy corporate or individual funders behind those messages.”
Help Promote Disclosure
If you receive an anonymous political mailer, please take a picture of it front and back and send it to the Irvine Watchdog for investigation and reporting.
4 Comments
Doug Elliott
October 11, 2021 at 11:14 amThis mailer is a fraudulent smear by cowards hiding behind the cloak of anonymity. Larry Agran is not “still there” after 43 years. He returned to the Council only ten months ago after being out of office for eight years, and he was previously out of office for an equally long period. The fact that he has served off and on over a period of many years gives lie to the claim that he doesn’t care about Irvine. To the contrary, he must care a great deal to give so much of his time and energy to the city, and to endure endless vilification by the far right and developer interests. The fact that he’s been elected numerous times demonstrates that the voters appreciate the pivotal role Agran has played in making Irvine the livable community it is.
ParisM
October 11, 2021 at 12:14 pmLarry Agran knows how to beat the system. Term limits were put in place, but both Agran and Christina Shea found a way around it. Take a term or two off, and then come back for more. That’s how they did it. Perhaps we need to revisit the term limits scenario, and put an end to this nonsense. Otherwise, we are stuck with these two who simply won’t go away.
Branda Lin
October 12, 2021 at 3:02 pmIn my article I went over the history of the Great Park CFD tax. If you look at the votes over the years, the use of the CFD changed drastically over time. In 2013 there were certain “approved and eligible uses” but that changed over time. The most significant change came in the 2019 City Council vote when they unanimously (Shea, Khan, Kuo, Carroll, Fox) allowed the use of the CFD tax to fund “additional CFD eligible facilities” which included the design, construction and materials to build the aquatics facility including the water polo building.
This is the ongoing problem with the Great Park. The plans are ever-changing and there is no Master Plan to ensure that when all is said and done, everything in the Great Park (traffic, parking, noise, pollution, safety, etc) will work.
https://irvinewatchdog.org/2021/07/23/why-property-taxes-are-significantly-higher-in-the-great-park-neighborhoods-cfd-2013-3-and-it-doesnt-sunset/
Woofy
October 12, 2021 at 3:54 pmI don’t have an issue paying more CFD. But if council ever listens to IWD members and build gas stations, I’ll have a big problem! My voice should be loudest and, so far, it is. GPN residents are finally getting extra benefits and freebies.
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