Worldy-Wise Agran Loses Back Home : Irvine: Ousted mayor describes himself as ‘too progressive for the political landscape.’ The victor says voters want to get back to basics.

The view from Mayor Larry Agran’s office window at City Hall was global.

He dabbled in Asian and Central American policy and stressed the need for cities to wean local industry from defense contracts--what he called the “warfare state.”

He fought for open space, rapid transit and a host of environmental measures, from curbside recycling to a ban on chemicals that damage the Earth’s ozone layer. National attention followed. Both Rolling Stone magazine and the New York Times wrote about his successes as a Democrat inside a vat of Republican influence--a record Agran touted three days before the election as he handed out dill and cilantro in door-to-door campaigning.

But Agran’s grip on Irvine is no more. Describing himself as “too progressive for the political landscape,” Agran was turned out by voters Tuesday in this master-planned community of 110,000, who likewise rejected his agenda.

They approved not only Councilwoman Sally Anne Sheridan as mayor by a 3% margin, but also her slate of City Council candidates and a developer-backed plan to replace two pedestrian bridges on Yale Avenue with overpasses for automobiles.

It was a sweeping victory for Sheridan and her supporters, who say they have grown increasingly weary of the mayor and his liberal council majority that changed a rather conservative city into a crucible for innovation.

“What all this means is that we get back to basics,” Sheridan said after the hard-fought race. “It means that we deal with issues that concern Irvine rather than global, international issues. It will be a time for healing.”

The end for Agran came after a neck-and-neck battle throughout election night in which both sides exchanged the lead twice.

It was the finale of a bitter power struggle between two formidable opponents and veterans of Irvine city politics. Sheridan has been on the council six years, while Agran has been in office for 12 years. He became the city’s first elected mayor in 1988.

Sheridan survived the most bitterly fought race in the city’s 18-year history and several major attacks on her credibility. First, her truthfulness was called into question after she claimed she had a master’s degree in nursing from Harvard University when she did not.

Later, Sheridan, a real estate agent, weathered further scrutiny for her role in the sale of more than 25 homes for city employees and executives of the Irvine Co.

She emerged unscathed and with a clear council majority.

Elected by at least 700 votes apiece was her slate--Art Bloomer, a former commanding general of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, and Barry J. Hammond, a professional mediator defeated for mayor two years ago by Agran.

“I think it was a major upset,” said Larry Thomas, director of communications for the Irvine Co., the city’s largest landholder. “It was the accepted wisdom of the pundits that Agran would win with his dominance at City Hall, his widespread attention and good reception by national and statewide media. But all that did not translate into a positive result from those who choose to vote.”

Agran’s slate was made up of incumbent Councilman Cameron Cosgrove and Planning Commissioner Mary Ann Gaido. Gaido was elected to the council, but because she was the third-highest vote-getter she might have to face a special election, under 2-year-old Measure D.

The initiative calls for a runoff for council positions left open after mayoral elections, if 7% of the city’s registered voters petition for the election. And, with 7,000 absentee ballots yet to be counted countywide, her third-place position could be jeopardized further. Her victory over Cosgrove was by less than 100 votes.

Agran and others blamed the election’s outcome on a tenacious campaign by Sheridan that turned the race into a referendum on the mayor’s record. Contributing too, observers say, were efforts to unseat Agran by outside political forces such as the county’s Lincoln Club, a Republican group of wealthy developers and business people.

“The city has been on a progressive path for many years and took the lead in open space, transportation, environmental protection, affordable housing, child care, and each of these initiatives entailed a political cost,” Agran said. “It eventually became too much, and we incurred the wrath of some of the most reactionary forces in the county that could back up their position with tens of thousands of dollars.”

The first hint of an Agran backlash surfaced last November, when voters rejected a gay-rights ordinance the mayor and his allies passed. The divisiveness continued with two measures involving plans to replace pedestrian overpasses on Yale Avenue with roads, which pitted two neighborhood interests against citywide traffic concerns. The mayor supported preserving the pedestrian bridges.

Agran’s defeat could have a profound impact on how development in Irvine will proceed. Gone will be a proponent of slow growth, strong environmental policies and an effort to redesign the Irvine Business Complex to include a concentrated mix of residential, retail and commercial uses linked to the rest of the city by a monorail.

Sheridan has supported a more traditional approach to growth and the role of government. She said she favors approvals of pending Irvine Co. projects and has questioned Agran’s business complex proposals as well as his effort to get a monorail. Instead, Sheridan wants to build new roads and widen existing ones in addition to rapid transit.

Although Agran was widely perceived as anti-business during his long tenure, his unexpected defeat will probably have little impact on the city’s economic climate, business officials said Wednesday.

The real estate community was generally pleased with the result, pointing to the pro-development stance of Sheridan and the controversy over Agran’s efforts to redesign the Irvine Business Complex.

Brandon Birtcher, managing partner of Birtcher, a real estate firm with several large projects in Irvine, predicted that business will have more trusting and forthright conversations about issues with Sheridan.

“Before, there always seemed to be a quid pro quo, “ he said. “Sally Anne is less likely to be moved by a personal agenda. We were hurt by that during Larry Agran’s tenure.” On the other hand, Carol Yocum, a former planning commissioner, warned that Sheridan’s election is a signal that the city could return to a time when the Irvine Co. and other major developers dictated what they want from the council.

But she predicted it will be difficult for the council to retreat from Agran’s philosophy of getting concessions from developers including open space, parkland and other amenities that benefit the public.

Similarly, Agran said that many of his policies will remain in place with perhaps some modification, and Sheridan said she would be hesitant to cast off some of the outgoing mayor’s successes.

“Developments will continue to be considered very carefully by the council,” Sheridan said. “It would be unfair to dismantle Agran’s policies. We need to evaluate some of his projects, but it would be very imprudent to go in and change everything around.”

Staff writer Jonathan Weber contributed to this story.