COUNTYWIDE : 2 Supervisors Sworn In for New Terms

Two of Orange County’s five supervisors took oaths of office for four-year terms Tuesday and pledged to find new ways of governing a county that is quickly changing under the weight of fiscal burdens.

The two supervisors, Roger R. Stanton and Gaddi H. Vasquez, were each reelected without opposition last year to serve again on the Board of Supervisors.

Stanton, 55, a former business professor and Fountain Valley councilman, was first elected to the county board in 1980 in an upset win over incumbent Philip Anthony. His 1st District covers 50 square miles and includes all or parts of Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Westminster and Santa Ana.

Vasquez, 37, was elected to the board in 1988. A former Orange police officer, he served as an aide to former Gov. George Deukmejian, who appointed him to the Board of Supervisors in 1987 to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Supervisor Bruce Nestande.

His 3rd District includes large rural and unincorporated parts of the county and stretches along its eastern corridor from La Habra to Mission Viejo. It covers 261 square miles.

During ceremonies in the board’s chambers, Stanton thanked his constituents for returning him to office.

“1992 has been a real rough year for a lot of people that wanted to hold their jobs,” he said. “That’s why I feel real lucky to be here in 1993 with a new four-year contract.”

Vasquez, meanwhile, vowed that he and other board members would “renew our energies” to meet changing times. A strong advocate of government privatization, he said the county must step up efforts to turn over costly services to the private sector.

The board oversees an annual budget of $3.5 billion and has broad responsibility over jails, courts, local health and welfare programs and other areas.

The terms of its other three members--Harriett M. Wieder, Thomas F. Riley and Don R. Roth--all expire in 1994, but Wieder and Riley have said they will not seek reelection. Roth is the subject of a criminal probe by the district attorney into allegations of influence peddling. Roth has vowed that he will be exonerated and seek reelection.