POLITICIAN WATCH : Busted Candidate

There could be no greater contrast to the insanity of New York City than the planned community of Irvine, placid and orderly. What two U.S. cities could be more different, physically or psychologically?

But in what has to be one of the truly ironic campaign footnotes of this topsy-turvy presidential election year, there was Larry Agran, Irvine’s former mayor, being dragged off by New York’s finest this week for allegedly raising a ruckus in his quest to be heard at a presidential candidates’ debate at Lehman College.

This, mind you, is a candidate hailing from a city where even the ducks in the man-made lakes seem to know their place. As mayor, Agran was a pioneer in the fine art of ensuring order. For example, the curbside recycling program he instituted even leaves reminders for erring residents if they happen to put plastic containers in the wrong bin.

Isn’t there enough serious crime in New York to keep police occupied? After all, even though Agran had been excluded from the debate, he bought his own ticket and asked respectfully to be heard. Earlier in the day, he actually had appeared as a guest speaker at Lehman.

As a minor presidential candidate this season, Agran no doubt has grown increasingly frustrated as he has challenged debate organizers and Democratic Party leaders about who gets to be on the dais. But something’s weird when the former mayor of perhaps the most orderly city in the country is busted for disorderly conduct in the most disorderly city in America.