‘Good Ol’ Boy Philosophy’ Guides Chicago Pol’s Son : Profile: Roth believed in helping friends and punishing enemies and enjoyed the perks of office, an acquaintance says.

On the streets of suburban Chicago more than 60 years ago, Don R. Roth was smitten by politics at the ripe old age of 8.

The boy was campaigning for a gubernatorial candidate supported by his father, a Republican precinct captain who was the man to see when anyone had problems or needed their streets repaired.

It was the kind of life that beckoned again to Roth in 1963, when he ended a 20-year stint in the Navy and embarked on a second career as a real estate broker in Anaheim. He immersed himself in local civic groups and, after two failed efforts, got himself elected to the Anaheim City Council for 10 years, the last four as mayor.

Now a two-term county supervisor who became the man to see for anything in the 4th Supervisorial District, Roth stepped down Tuesday under a cloud of allegations, including influence-peddling and trading political favors for gifts.

In the process, the 71-year-old Roth leaves the five-member Board of Supervisors as one of the last of a disappearing breed, a man described by many as a “good ol’ boy” who loves rough-and-tumble politics and sees nothing wrong with accepting free lunches, tickets to Los Angeles Rams games and generally holding court in the corridors of power.

“Don enjoys being entertained, being wined and dined,” former Anaheim City Councilman William Ehrle said last April, after Roth became the focus of an FBI investigation into allegations of political corruption. “He has a real sense of the good ol’ boy philosophy: You help your friends and punish your enemies. He really enjoys the influence, the power and the recognition.”

Roth loved, for instance, to hold court at the LaFayette Restaurant in Garden Grove, a frequent luncheon spot where he was greeted effusively by the hosts. He was well known as a rabid fan of both the Los Angeles Rams and the California Angels.

Even his elderly father enjoyed the perks of his son’s office. Roth told a reporter several years ago that his dad was disappointed that he had traded in the mayor of Anaheim job for a county supervisor’s seat. The reason: he no longer got free tickets to Angels’ games.

An amiable pro-growth advocate with an ear to his constituents over hot-potato issues such as jails or business interests promoting a high-speed rail link between Anaheim and Las Vegas, Roth takes pride in his accomplishments during 17 years in office.

Even his departing statement Tuesday was accompanied by a list of highlights while in county service. They include his efforts to control the size of government, his work to limit regional regulations by agencies such as the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and his efforts to improve transportation and block a slow-growth initiative.

He managed to scuttle a proposed 6,000-bed jail in Gypsum Canyon at the east end of his district. The protracted battle was telling of Roth’s political determination and persuasiveness. He managed to reverse a 4-1 vote of supervisors in favor of the project to a 4-1 vote against it.

Earlier, Roth helped kill plans for an intermediate jail facility that county staff and other supervisors wanted to place on county land near Anaheim Stadium and the Santa Ana River. Now, a new sports arena is being finished near the site.

Yet he wasn’t necessarily unsympathetic to the serious overcrowding in county jails. Roth pushed for the controversial expansion of the Theo Lacy Branch Jail in the county complex across from The City Shopping Center in Orange. He also endorsed politically controversial work furlough programs in Buena Park and Anaheim for low-risk criminals.

Roth was born Aug. 31, 1921, in Chicago. After serving in World War II and the Korean War, he moved to Anaheim in 1955, when, as a chief petty officer, he was transferred to the then-U.S. Naval Air Station at Los Alamitos.

Once he retired from the Navy in 1963 and became a real estate broker, he began working for school board and City Council candidates. In 1970, council members appointed him to the unexpired term of Councilman Ralph B. Clark, who was elected the 4th District supervisor.

Roth’s position was not assured. He lost two successive council races, but the tide turned in 1976, when the city’s movers and shakers asked him to run again. The group included Carl N. Karcher of the Carl’s Jr. hamburger franchise, representatives of Disneyland and the Angels’ baseball team.

They “came to me to ask me if I was interested in running if they’d put the money together to run a good campaign,” said Roth, who was elected.

His 10 years on the Anaheim council coincided with a decade of unparalleled growth, according to former City Manager William O. Talley.

Roth voted to complete construction of the Civic Center, expand Anaheim Stadium, lure the Rams from Los Angeles, and push to make the city a mecca for tourists and conventioneers.

“Don is a regular guy,” Talley said. “You always knew where he stood. He was a conservative, and he maintained those values consistently. He didn’t shift with the political winds and didn’t cave into special interests as subsequent councils have.”

Roth only sought higher office in 1986, when Supervisor Clark stepped down while under investigation in the wide-ranging probe of influence-peddling by former fireworks magnate W. Patrick Moriarty.

Roth narrowly won that expensive, 13-month campaign for the board, beating his chief opponent, former Orange City Councilman Jim Beam, by slightly more than 1% of the vote. Friends and supporters jokingly called him “Landslide Don.”

As a city councilman, Roth opposed a planned jail facility near Anaheim Stadium. He continued the fight while on the Board of Supervisors, arguing that jails were inappropriate near urban areas.

Roth also sided against a planned jail and landfill project in Gypsum Canyon near the exploding residential areas of the Anaheim Hills--which was within his district. Yet he pushed to expand the Theo Lacy Branch Jail over the objections of the city of Orange. Ultimately, Orange and Roth on behalf of the Board of Supervisors settled a lawsuit over the issue and the expansion went forward.

“The city officials in Orange love him because he was fair with them,” said Dan Wooldridge, a former aide to the supervisor and now a political consultant. “When the sheriff and others on the board tried to do things (with Theo Lacy) that were not part of the agreement, Don stood up and shouted and got the board to back down.”

The supervisor also was instrumental in supporting a proposed high-speed train between Anaheim and Las Vegas. He was named to a two-state commission to explore creation of such a rail project, and eventually became its chairman.

Roth has said the $5-billion rail system would “thrust both states into the 21st Century” and reduce traffic congestion as well as boost tourism at both ends. The proposal, however, has been stalled at least temporarily despite Roth’s tenacity.

“Don is fearless,” Wooldridge said. “He took on some of the toughest, biggest fights. This was someone who was willing to take on his colleagues, even the sheriff (Brad Gates) on the jail issues to do what he thinks was right.”