The Irvine City Council voted 4-1 last night to adopt an anti-nepotism policy for appointments to city commissions and committees, prompting long-time Councilman Larry Agran to condemn it as a politically -motivated maneuver aimed at removing his wife from a city committee.
The policy was proposed by Mayor Farrah Khan and Councilmember Tammy Kim, who were joined by Vice Mayor Anthony Kuo and Councilmember Mike Carroll in approving it, while Agran dissented.
Irvine has 23 council-appointed commissions and committees, but the city’s existing anti-nepotism policy does not apply to the mayor or councilmembers, or commission and committee appointees.
The amended anti-nepotism rule for appointive bodies will henceforth prohibit the appointment of “any person that is the father, step-father, mother, step-mother, grandmother, grandfather, grandchild, brother, step-brother, sister, step-sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, spouse, aunt, uncle, cousin, step-child or child of any City Councilmember.”
Councilmember Kim said she got the idea for an anti-nepotism policy from reading an article in the Voice of OC in January of this year.
“The entire point of having commissions and of having committees, is soliciting the input of a variety of voices from the community and providing opportunities for residents to serve,” said Kim, pitching her proposal as a way to expand those opportunities.
Agran painted the proposal as a transparent political attack on him and his wife, Dr. Phyllis Agran, a noted pediatric gastroenterologist.
“It’s pretty hard to conclude that this is anything but an effort to have my wife removed from the Irvine Children, Youth and Families Advisory Committee,” claimed Agran.
Kim denied the charge. “This is in no way meant to be an attack on any one individual,” Kim stated while introducing the item. “We’re all being held to the same standard.”
Agran called the policy arbitrary, pointing out that a councilmember would be able to appoint a domestic partner or a live-in lover.
“The only reason that [Phyllis Agran] would be kicked off this committee, is because of our marital status,” said Agran. “If we were just ‘friends with benefits,’ under those circumstances this wouldn’t cover it.”
Agran also questioned the process, saying the agendized item was originally a call for the council to give staff direction on drafting an amendment to the anti-nepotism ordinance. He pressed City Attorney Jeffrey Melching as to why an actual draft ordinance was being presented without council direction, and on whose authority.
“When this was initially put on the agenda, it was to discuss and give direction to the city attorney to prepare an ordinance,” said Agran.
“How did this get prepared without the city council giving you direction to prepare it?” Agran asked the city attorney.
“I was asked by city staff to prepare the ordinance. And I did,” replied Melcher.
“Staff requested you to prepare it – on what authority? On what direction? The council didn’t give direction,” Agran continued.
“Councilmember Agran, the agenda item was initiated by Councilmember Kim and Mayor Khan, and in connection with that agenda item, I was asked to put together the ordinance so that if the city council wanted to act on the item, it could act on the item,” explained Melcher.
“I think that request came through the city manager, who I work for, and I did what I was told to do,” said Melching.
