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Irvine Ex-Mayor to Seek Democratic Presidential Nomination

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

At a time when Democrats seem to be long shots in the race for the White House, Orange County has produced perhaps the longest-shot candidacy of them all.

Former Irvine Mayor Larry Agran, a staunch liberal scarcely known to voters outside of the conservative stronghold, announced Thursday that he is seeking the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

Although his candidacy was quickly dismissed as hopeless by many analysts, Agran told a crowd of about 350 supporters that he would build a “new American security” through decreased defense spending, with commensurate increases in domestic outlays.

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“I want to be a voice for America’s cities and towns and for the people who live there,” said the Harvard-educated Agran, an attorney who was narrowly ousted as mayor of Irvine in 1990, after serving 12 years on the City Council.

Agran, whose campaign shows about $7,000 in the bank, acknowledged the sharply uphill road ahead.

“Larry Agran isn’t exactly a household name throughout America,” he said. “But look around you. At this moment of truth for the Democratic Party and for our country, men who call themselves leaders slip meekly off stage. . . . Do I want to be President? Absolutely. But even more than that, I want to help influence the choices that we as a nation must make.”

According to records at the Federal Election Commission, Agran, 46, becomes the sixth Democrat to file notice of at least an exploratory candidacy for President. The others include Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, former Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas and Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.

In California, former Democratic Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., who has been exploring a run for the U.S. Senate, also has indicated an interest in a presidential bid.

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