From: harelb@MATH.CORNELL.EDU (Harel Barzilai)
Newsgroups: alt.news-media
Subject: About LARRY AGRAN -- "Bio"
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Date: 11 Apr 92 07:37:35 GMT
Organization: misc.activism.progressive on UseNet ; ACTIV-L@UMCVMB

Agran for President 92
P.O. Box 159
Irvine, CA 92650
(800) 727-9425
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

                              BIOGRAPHY

Larry Agran has forged an unconventional political career as a
successful Democratic official in conservative Orange County,
California.

While he was the Mayor of Irvine, the editors of The New York
Times wrote, "Although a liberal Democrat, Mr. Agran thrives as
a maverick in Republican territory."  The Los Angeles Times
concurred, noting that "Observers near and far marveled at how
this progressive Democrat managed to dance on the
head of a pin in the heart of conservative Orange County."

Today, as opinion polls continue to insist that President Bush is
personally popular but his policies are not, Larry Agran steps
forward to address the issues which are bringing America's
cities, states and counties to their knees -- issues which have
been lost in the rhetoric of past campaigns.

Throughout the 1980's, Larry Agran was not only a member of the
Irvine City Council, but also a recognized national leader in
local public policy.

From 1978, when first elected to the City Council, until he left
office in 1990 as Irvine's first directly elected mayor, Agran
brought global acclaim to this city of 110,000 people.  Irvine is
now famous worldwide as a leading example of master planning --
what The New York Times said may be "the American future."

Preaching the message "Think globally, act locally," Agran has
repeatedly taken the lead in shaping policy in the new age of
international cooperation. He has:

*       Authored a 1987 U.S. Conference of Mayors resolution calling
on Congress and the President "to redress the imbalance between
military spending and important domestic spending";

*       Organized the Conference's landmark study, A Shift in
Military Spending to America's Cities, which found that "a five-
year shift of $150 billion from the military budget" would
create jobs, increase personal income, and improve the quality of
life;

*       Convened a 1990 Roundtable Conference on Economic
Diversification at Irvine City Hall which brought together local
aerospace executives, trade union officials, economists,
federal and state representatives, and local elected officials.
One idea generated by the gathering was the conversion of high-
technology industries from military weaponry to mass transit;

*       Authored the nation's strongest and most comprehensive
municipal ordinance to eliminate chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and
other compounds destroying the Earth's ozone layer, for which the
city was honored with the United Nations Environment Programme's
coveted award for environmental achievement.

Agran headed a City Council described by The New York Times as "a
crucible of municipal innovation."  To address the everyday needs
of his constituents, Agran:

*       Initiated a child care policy that committed Irvine to the
universal availability of safe, affordable, quality child care
declared a "national model" by the Los Angeles Times;

*       Led the effort to adopt a City Human Rights Ordinance
banning discrimination in housing, employment, and public
accommodations -- including discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation;

*       Developed and funded a transportation system for elderly and
disabled citizens -- earning the city an award for national
leadership in promoting the rights of the disabled.

"Thinking globally" comes naturally for Larry Agran, who:

*      Authored California's bilateral nuclear freeze initiative,
passed by the voters in 1982.  The resolution required the Governor
to send a letter to the President urging the negotiation of a
bilateral nuclear freeze with the Soviet Union;

*       For eight years, served as Executive Director of the Center
for Innovative Diplomacy, a non-profit "think tank" dedicated to
the constructive participation of citizens and cities across the
world in international affairs;

*       Visited Mexico and Japan to establish Irvine's sister cities
relations, and established an international affairs program that
capitalized on Irvine's place on the Pacific Rim, as well as
the city's multinational, multicultural population;

*       Travelled to Vietnam in 1989 as part of a delegation to
press for the release of the father of a Vietnamese refugee
living in Irvine.  Where the State Department had failed, the
delegation succeeded.  The family was reunited.

                         PERSONAL BACKGROUND

Early Years
Born on February 2, 1945 in Chicago, Illinois, the second of
three sons,  Agran's family moved to Southern California in late
1945.  There, he attended public schools, graduating from North
Hollywood High School.

In 1962, Agran entered the U.S. Army Reserves, where he served
until his honorable discharge in 1970.  Agran graduated Phi Beta
Kappa from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966,
majoring in economics and history.  In 1969, he graduated cum
laude from Harvard Law School, where he specialized in
public law.

Career
Agran served for three years as Legal Counsel to the California
State Senate Committee on Health and Welfare.  In 1974, he
returned to private practice, as well as teaching and writing.

>From 1975 to 1980, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of
the National Health Law Program, a federally funded legal
services program to advance the health rights of the poor.

In 1977, Agran authored The Cancer Connection (Houghton Mifflin),
a highly acclaimed book sharply critical of the government's
failure to institute effective public policies to protect
citizens against occupationally and environmentally caused
cancers.

Public Office
Larry Agran was first elected to the Irvine City Council in March
1978, and served until June 1990.

He was the City's first directly elected Mayor and held office
for six years.  After a total of 12 years and four winning
elections as a Democratic activist in conservative Orange County,
Agran was narrowly defeated for re-election in 1990.

The Los Angeles Times commented, "His supporters will wonder if
Agran was too far ahead of his time . . . But if Larry Agran's
think tank has closed up shop in Orange County, at least it got
many people to think imaginatively about local government while
it had center stage."

In December, 1990, former Democratic Presidential nominee George
McGovern chose Larry Agran to chair his exploratory committee for
a possible campaign for the Democratic nomination.

Although in May 1991 he chose not to run, McGovern noted that the
committee had provided him with "a strong financial base -- and
we would have easily qualified for federal matching funds."

Larry Agran lives in Irvine with his wife, Phyllis, a pediatric
gastroenterologist.  Their 21-year old son, Ken, is a senior at
Dartmouth College.