O.C. Supervisor Roth Resigns : Politics: In surprise announcement, he says criminal investigations of alleged influence peddling hurt his ability to serve county. Board colleagues hail his record.

Orange County Supervisor Don R. Roth announced his resignation Tuesday, saying that a 10-month-old criminal investigation into allegations of influence peddling against him has eroded his ability to serve the county.

The 71-year-old supervisor said he will give up his Anaheim-based seat Monday, prompting immediate speculation over whom Gov. Pete Wilson may choose to replace him in one of Orange County’s most powerful and visible posts.

” . . . It has become clear to me that the controversy surrounding the investigation by the district attorney is taking its toll on my ability to fulfill my official responsibilities,” Roth said, near tears as he spoke. “The office of supervisor requires full-time attention to constituent interests and concerns. It requires that each board member fully concentrate on important countywide issues. It requires a total focus on public service.”

But even after the dramatic announcement, Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi said his office will continue to pursue allegations that Roth traded political favors for thousands of dollars in unreported gifts from Southland business people who relied on his vote on the county board.

Roth’s attorney, Dana R. Reed, said Tuesday that the supervisor still maintains that he committed nothing more than “technical, inadvertent violations” of state political law, but came to realize over the weekend that the investigation had made it impossible for him to continue in his job.

“This came as a surprise to me,” said Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, who received a call at 10 p.m. Monday from Roth about the decision. “I’ll remember Don for his positive contributions. But (the controversy) was a distraction, and now we can proceed. . . . We can now focus totally, totally . . . on governing the county.”

The case broke last April when The Times disclosed that Roth had accepted three trips to Santa Catalina Island and what amounted to an $8,500 interest-free loan from a Laguna Beach family who wanted the county to rezone a piece of land for a $5-million condominium project.

The newspaper reports prompted the district attorney’s office to open a criminal investigation in May, and allegations quickly grew to include gifts of airline flight upgrades, landscaping work, home improvements, weekend trips, golf outings and other items that Roth received free of charge.

The supervisor did not report any of the items as gifts in state-required disclosure statements, which were mandated by voters 19 years ago in the wake of the Watergate scandal, to ensure more accountability in the political process.

In several dozen instances, the former realtor and Anaheim mayor also voted within a year on matters directly affecting the donors--actions that were possible criminal violations of state conflict-of-interest laws.

In one case in early 1990, for example, Roth successfully pushed to have the board shelve a controversial proposal that would have forced developers to put fire-safety sprinklers in new homes. At the time, the Presley Cos.--a major local developer opposed to the measure--was installing more than $15,000 in free improvements at Roth’s new Anaheim Hills home. Other Presley customers said they weren’t allowed such upgrades.

Roth also billed both his campaign and a public commission for the same $2,900 in expenses for a technology tour of Europe in pursuit of one of his biggest dreams: a high-speed rail train between Anaheim and Las Vegas. He paid the money back to his campaign after the issue was reported in The Times.

While pressure on Roth has mounted for months amid new disclosures of potential illegalities, his resignation came as a jolt to many who listened to his announcement in hushed silence at the close of the weekly board meeting.

“Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!” exclaimed Dolores Otting, who runs a South County garbage service and has sparred frequently with county supervisors over waste-management and public policy issues.

“I thought I saw history happening,” she said later. “I couldn’t believe he was resigning. . . . I hope it is the beginning of a lot of changes in the county in the 1990s.”

With tears welling in his eyes, Roth exchanged handshakes and hugs with his four colleagues on the Board of Supervisors after announcing what he termed “a very, very difficult decision.” His personal staff members led a standing ovation for him, joined by other county officials.

The announcement came after more than two hours of board discussions of routine matters, an excruciating delay for the many insiders who had been tipped off to what Roth was ready to say.

Roth’s seat will remain empty until Gov. Wilson names his successor. Officials said Board Chairman Harriett M. Wieder will likely have responsibility for overseeing Roth’s staff of seven people.

Roth’s absence could theoretically create a problem in reaching a majority vote on divisive issues. But virtually all board measures are passed unanimously, and county officials said they do not envision any immediate issues that would require a fifth vote to break a tie.

As supervisor, Roth helped oversee the county’s $3.6-billion budget and had paid particular attention to finding ways of slimming down the county’s operations, eliminating or consolidating positions where possible.

But the impact of his resignation extends beyond his role on the county’s highest board. Because of his position as a supervisor, Roth is automatically a member of several influential Orange County commissions that oversee local transit, sanitation, the formation of new cities, and the $2-billion creation of two controversial toll roads through the eastern and southern parts of the county. Officials said he will forfeit those posts as well.

A former Navy aviator known by colleagues as a political fighter, Roth had vowed to keep fighting until exonerated, even saying in past months that he would seek reelection to his $83,000-a-year post in June, 1994.

But his resolve had begun to deteriorate in recent months, associates said.

One county official close to Roth reported that the supervisor was worried about his health, saying he was losing sleep over the case. A report in The Times last month, reporting that some colleagues were wavering in their support for him, proved particularly painful, the source said.

“It’s analogous to when there’s an illness and you fear the end will come,” Wieder said. “When it actually happens, it’s a shock. But sometimes it’s the best thing, and what happened may have been the best for Don and his health.”

Roth himself said the combined weight of the criminal investigation and the intense publicity it has generated made him realize that the controversy was “taking its toll” on his job performance.

Roth later refused to elaborate on the reasons or timing behind his decision, but aides and law enforcement officials said the resignation was not linked to a deal with the district attorney.

Steven Malone, Roth’s chief of staff, said the main motivation behind the resignation was Roth’s realization that the controversy was compromising the functioning of his office.

Roth has abstained from 10 votes in the past two months alone because of potential conflicts that have arisen during the investigation. Malone said staff members have been forced to devote increasing amounts of time in recent months to determining which votes might prove a problem for the supervisor.

The issue has also shadowed Roth at public appearances. Constituents have peppered him with questions about the scandal at meetings and community events, Malone said. Roth has devoted increased time to discussions with his defense lawyers, who are being paid from his campaign funds.

“He felt that so much attention was being placed upon that part of his world, he was no longer able to effectively work on the issues as he saw them--the county budget, privatization, a variety of things. And that his effectiveness in office had been eroded to the point that he should resign,” Malone said.

“We became fixated on that issue,” Malone said, adding that he would pick up the newspaper each day wondering whether Roth was “going to be in there. . . . It’s just a constant onslaught of bad publicity.”

In reaching his decision on Monday, Roth indicated that the resignation may have been “the most difficult thing he’s ever had to do in his life,” Malone said. He broke the news to his staff in an emotional meeting Tuesday morning.

As the district attorney’s investigation has intensified over the last 10 months, Roth’s colleagues on the board have begun voicing growing concern that the controversy may be dragging down the entire board at a time when it faces critical decisions on the county’s bleak financial picture.

But on Tuesday, several supervisors were quick to praise Roth for his commitment to the county, citing his work on transportation, family care and other issues.

“When Don called me at home (Monday night) to advise me of his decision, my heart was heavy,” said Supervisor Thomas F. Riley.

Robert MacLeod, general manager of the Assn. of Orange County Sheriff’s Deputies, said Roth was always a good friend of law enforcement.

“I know the vultures are going to be out on that old guy,” he said, “but I regret to see him leave. He’ll be hard to replace.”

Allen B. Hughes, executive vice president of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, said Roth was “tried and convicted” in the press. Although he was surprised by the decision, Hughes said it appeared inevitable.

“I was concerned that because of all the bad press, Don had become a liability to the Board of Supervisors in that he felt constrained in not voting for a lot of issues,” Hughes said. “Abstaining from so many things was a struggle. My personal feeling is that while he may have made mistakes, Don Roth is a man of integrity.”

But Shirley L. Grindle, a longtime community activist who helped secure widespread changes in Orange County political campaign law last year, was far from sympathetic. She said she was surprised by Roth’s decision--but “very glad.”

“He is the epitome of the old-style politician who milks his position for everything he can for his own personal gain, and that’s not tolerated any more,” she said. “We’ll be better off.”

“It was sad, but nothing stays the same forever,” Board Chairman Wieder said. “Someone else will fill that seat and we’ll go on from here. Sometimes change happens for the best.”

More Roth Coverage

POLITICAL MAN--Introduced to the allure of politics by his Republican precinct captain grandfather, Roth came to love its power, perks and privileges. A12

BAD OLD DAYS--Roth’s resignation recalls an earlier era of Orange County politics, the 1970s, when more than 40 public officials or their aides were indicted. A12

THE REACTION--How board colleagues and other local political figures reacted to the supervisor’s announcement that ended 17 years in local government. A13

THE STATEMENT--The text of Roth’s surprise announcement. A13