OC Register Death Watch

Adam Probolsky Orange County Register Journalistic BJ for Larry Agran--Explained!

By Matt Coker Fri., Nov. 2 2012 at 7:08 AM
Categories: OC Media, OC Register Death Watch, Politics
adam-probolsky_square.jpg
Probolsky
The same day we published R. Scott Moxley's damning story on the cozy financial relationship Orange County Republican politicos like Adam Probolsky (who was pictured there and here) has with Larry Agran, Irvine's supposedly liberal Boss Hogg, the Orange County Register published Probolsky's column titled "Getting to Know Irvine Councilman Larry Agran."

It's corrupto-kismet, baby!

See also:

[Moxley Confidential] Larry Agran's Great Irvine Election Robbery: Yet more evidence emerges in the Democrat's Republican-vote-splitting caper
Larry Agran is Stealing Another Election in Republican-Heavy Irvine
[Moxley Confidential] Larry Agran's Irvine Machine Paid Off Decoy Candidate: Larry Agran recruits his Republican Katherine Daigle to steal the city's mayoral election, which he did before with Earle Zucht

Mox's reporting shows how Agran and certain Republican operatives and businessmen like Patrick B. Strader, a wealthy lobbyist for Irvine Great Park developer Heritage Fields El Toro LLC, Dave Gilliard of the California Homeowners Association, and Probolsky, a GOP push pollster who berated Agran as a socialist before the Great Park gravy train rolled into town, are in cahoots with the longtime mayor/councilman/Great Park chairman. (*corrected)

And so, we had to pick our jaw up off the table three or four times upon reading this in Probolsky's piece:

Once described as, "The most durable and effective local elected official in Orange County," Agran is an Irvine institution. He has been a city leader since the late '70s and can take credit for much of Irvine's success.

Upon further review, it turns out Probolsky has been writing regular, frothy, non-partisan columns on every candidate running for a city office in Irvine this election season. Bully for that.

What's got me scratching my dandruff maker is why the Register publishes any of this. A political consultant and pollster based in Irvine and earning a living through his relationship with key candidates and funders of the candidates is awful squishy.

Fortunately for Orange County's largest daily, no one in Irvine gives a shit, which is why Agran's had his way with the electorate for 30 years.

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Tags:

Adam Probolsky, City of Irvine, Dave Gilliard, Heritage Fields El Toro LLC, Larry Agran, Orange County, Orange County Great Park, Orange County Register. California Homeowners Association, Patrick B. Strader, Republican Party
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jacksokol
jacksokol

These personal vendettas against Larry Agran have just cemented the fact that every word this measly rag perpetrates is utter crap!! 

 

 

ltpar
ltpar topcommenter

Matt, there are a few of us in Irvine who "give a shit" and have been fighting the Agranistas with  time and money for many years.  Unfortunately, we just haven't had either the support or financial backing to get the job done.  This election, we did get some support and Tuesday will tell the tale of how successful our efforts have been.  As they say, "It's just another day in Paradise?" 

20ftjesus
20ftjesus like.author.displayName 1 Like

The Agran's are actually really nice people and supportive of many local causes.  I'm having a difficult time supporting all the OCW venom directed at them.

 

ltpar
ltpar topcommenter

 @20ftjesus

 Jesus, you probably liked Charles Manson too, didn't you.  I have known Larry Agran for thirty years and the man you see today, is not the man we knew years ago.  This guy is corrupt, power hungry and vicious to those who are not his friends.  Larry Agran is a classic portrait of the saying, "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." 

JackGrimshaw
JackGrimshaw topcommenter

 @20ftjesus

"Really nice people ... etc." Excuse me I while step behind the building to barf ...

GregDiamond
GregDiamond

Et tu, Coker?

 

In this paragraph of your story:

 

"Mox's reporting shows how Agran and certain Republican operatives and businessmen likePatrick B. Strader, a wealthy lobbyist for Irvine Great Park developer Heritage Fields El Toro LLC, Dave Gilliard of the California Homeowners Association, and Probolsky, a GOP push pollster who berated Agran as a socialist before the Great Park gravy train rolled into town, are in cahoots with the longtime mayor/councilman/Great Park chairman."

 

(I'll presume that you meant to exclude "Agran and" from the first line, rather than asserting that Agran is in cahoots with himself.)

 

Even with that fix, the paragraph is wrong.  The paragraph describes the actions of various people who do seem to want to curry favor with Agran.  It does not show that Agran himself solicited or helped to arrange that support or that his judgments in office are even in his judgment in office are in any way affected by it.  It simply doesn't.  If anyone thinks otherwise, the longer critique of the story is here: http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2012/11/inspector-moxley-plants-incriminating-evidence-of-something-on-larry-agran/.

 

Calling this operation "the Agran machine" when there's nothing but fever dreams actually connecting any of it to *Agran or his agents themselves* is bad, tendentious, sloppy journalism.  Sorry to see you joining those whom Moxley beseeches to compliment that which deserves eye-rolling.   I realize that it must be degrading -- and also that you really can't say that out loud.

MatthewTCoker
MatthewTCoker topcommenter like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

 @GregDiamond Greg, I apologize for screwing up the construction of that sentence. Not to make excuses, but the word "Irvine" automatically causes the colors of beige stucco, khaki pants and mauve, lots and lots of mauve, to flash in my brain. Denying the existence of an Agran political machine is a far more grave error. There are more former members of that machine willing to say there is a machine than there are people who will be voting for you.

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