Irvine Community News & Views is NOT a Danger to the Public Trust

 

A recent post by Irvine Watchdog called the Irvine Community News & Views a “danger to the public trust” and is encouraging the Irvine City Council to investigate Council member Larry Agran for alleged campaign violations.  The publication has been the subject of multiple complaints filed with the FPPC over the years and the organization has found no basis for any violation – ever.

Charges that the publication hasn’t disclosed ownership are patently false; there’s a filing on Irvine Community News & Views LLC with the California Secretary of State’s office.  The Watchdog post also reported details on the paper’s ownership.

The main thrust of Watchdog’s complaints are that ICN&V and Council member Agran somehow violate Irvine’s Code of Ethics.  So, let’s review:

• ICN&V is a California Limited Liability Corporation that has a filing with the California Secretary of State’s office that posts all the information the state requires of any LLC.
• ICN&V gives the impression of an impartial news source while using a platform to endorse a candidate, allies and political agenda. Perhaps they ought to file complaints about Fox News, NewsNation, Oann, and various talk radio shows while they are at it.  Historically, newspapers have had bold political bias (see the dailies in London or New York City).
• “The authors of this article call on the Irvine City Council to launch an ethics investigation into this matter.” Does this apply to endorsements published in the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, or Washington Post as well?  What about columnists who have a definitive liberal or conservative point of view.  Does this apply to TheLiberalOC?
• Authors allege hidden ownership; Agran is a limited owner of the publication in the form of an investment. We don’t require candidates or elected officials to disclose their investments.  The authors know of Agran’s stake in the publication’s company.  Isn’t that enough transparency?  ICN&V’s is a private company; do they want payroll information?  Citizens ought to make informed decisions about the content they consume; then explain Alex Jones and InfoWars for me like I’m in third grade, please.  Watching his show, buying his products, taking him at his word is their decision, though I’m not sold on how informed this decision is at all.  I will note, bios of every writer for ICN&V is published and include Roger Bloom who was president of the OC Press Club twice and Publisher Frank Lunding discloses his bio as well.  Agran, himself, seldom writes for the paper.  His daughter-in-law handles much of the administrative editorial services which most papers do not credit.  Does Donald Trump disclose his interests in “truths” posted on TruthSocial?  Does Elon Musk do so on X.com?
• The notion that Larry Agran will somehow use ICN&V to push a city-approved narrative make me laugh out loud. Comparing his tiny tabloid to Bloomberg is downright hysterical; Bloomberg terminals are in every investment bank and WallStreet broker’s offices just as Dow Jones and Reuters; the markets Bloomberg serves is millions; ICN&V serves tens of thousands at best, and I’d argue is read by fewer.
• The writers note a 2017 federal lawsuit identifying owners of ICN&V; a lawsuit won by the paper to be distributed in Irvine City Hall under rules passed by Agran years before so OC Weekly and OC Metro would be distributed there long before ICN&V began operations. They only produced one page of said lawsuit, and they write: “This ownership structure is significant, as ICNV’s editorials and political articles consistently and emphatically support Mr. Agran’s campaigns, endorse his allies, and criticize his opponents. Yet, the publication presents itself as an independent news source, potentially misleading readers who trust ICNV’s endorsements and commentary without knowing the family ties.”  Agran was not on the city council at the time of this lawsuit.  Anyone ever hear of the New York Post?  It’s a newspaper still publishing today, founded by Alexander Hamilton (yes that one) so he could anonymously libel his political opponents.  Most notably Thomas Jefferson.  Endorsing allies and criticizing opponents is exactly what the New York Post does to this day, with a much better sports page than ICN&V.
• The Watchdog writers posted about a $100,000 loan to a PAC called “Build the Irvine Great Park Veterans Cemetery, Sponsored by Irvine Community News & Views LLC.” They say ICNV has not disclosed the source of this funding and posted a copy of form 460 that actually shows that Agran funded the loan.  If the writers think that Irvine voters are so dumb as to not know that ICNV’s editorials support Mr. Agran’s political interests, they are delusional.  Wow, Irvine resident and candidate for office puts his money where his mouth is to promote a project he’s fought for over decades.   I’m shocked.

So, here’s a weak accusation:  “As a public official, Mr. Agran is bound by Irvine’s Code of Ethics, which mandates transparency, avoidance of conflicts of interest, and responsible use of one’s position. ICNV publishes both political and non-political articles, but our concern focuses on its politically-charged content, which consistently promotes Mr. Agran’s candidacies and political allies.”

Politically-charged content is a First Amendment issue and government cannot restrict free speech.  Agran’s ownership issues are disclosed and transparent.  So, Watchdog’s accusation is unfounded.  Agran hasn’t hidden his ownership interest in ICN&V so  the Transparency and Integrity in Public Service (Section 1-9-101) does not apply.

Conflict of Interest (Section 1-9-103(A)): one can make an argument that Tammy Kim’s promotion of Korean Business interests or Kathleen Treseder’s promotion of OCPA could apply.  Those are weak examples at best but carry the same weight as the charges against ICN&V.

And as for Misuse of Position for Personal Benefit (Section 1-9-104): look to Tammy Kim’s role in sponsoring a Korean business tradeshow with Irvine tax dollars with zero plausible benefit to Irvine earlier this year works better.  She was a featured speaker.  There’s no tangible proof that Irvine’s sponsorship of this business conference led to any new Korean businesses relocating here. But taxpayers forked over $10,000 so Kim could look good at this conference.  She originally asked for $50,000.

Let’s keep going: Ethical Standards for Honesty and Fairness in Communication: The Code requires public officials to maintain honesty and fairness in their communications, fostering trust and equity among the public. Dr. Treseder maintains she is a witness to an FBI investigation is Irvine which the last action was an interview of the City Manager in May 2023.  She tells the public things the FBI has told her in which the FBI will not confirm or deny to the press.  In fact, her publicly speaking on the status of FBI investigations, while not illegal, are discouraged by the agency. If you want a council member who’s violated this code, look there.

“Given the potential violations of Irvine’s Code of Ethics, we call on the City Council to take immediate action.”

I like to say: “If its and buts were candy and nuts, it’d be Christmas every day.”  The call for an investigation is loaded with “ifs and buts” and lacks a hard accusation to call for an investigation.  Words like “possible”, “potential” are used in every accusation by Irvine Watchdog – which had no issues with Agran in the 2020 election while he campaigned exactly the same way.

The calls for an investigation into Agran and ICN&Vs are more tied to the fact Agran and Mayor Farrah Khan took comments from the public regarding the Israel/Palestinian conflict and charges about CAIR; voters have seen through this and are poised to elect Agran as Mayor for 2024.