Steiner Pledges Support for Ethics Code : Government: The newest supervisor says tough restrictions on officials are necessary ‘to restore public trust.’

Newly inducted Orange County Supervisor William G. Steiner, seeking to make a clean break from embattled predecessor Don R. Roth, pledged Monday to help “restore public trust and confidence in government” by supporting toughened ethics laws for local politicians.

“There is no substitute for personal integrity,” the 55-year-old Steiner, who is giving up his post as executive director of the Orangewood Children’s Foundation, told a standing-room-only crowd of 350 supporters as he was sworn in to one of the county’s most powerful political posts.

The former Orange city councilman spoke in broad terms about priorities such as improved transportation and job creation. But the first--and longest--focus of his talk was on public ethics, an issue that had dogged former Supervisor Roth for months and led to his resignation two weeks ago amid ongoing allegations of influence-peddling.

Roth, 71, still facing possible criminal charges over his acceptance of gifts from people with business before the Orange County Board of Supervisors, did not attend the induction, nor was he mentioned by name at the ceremony. But tensions over his term in office were clearly fresh in many minds.

“We can now put aside the unpleasantries of the last few months and as a full house get on with the business of the county,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Harriett M. Wieder said as she introduced Steiner at the Hall of Administration ceremony Monday morning.

Since Gov. Pete Wilson appointed Steiner earlier this month to fill out Roth’s term, Steiner has voiced general support for efforts at cleaning up the reputation of government in the wake of the Roth scandal. But his comments Monday--both at his induction and in an interview afterward--marked his most specific plan to achieve that goal.

Steiner said he will support current efforts to eliminate virtually all gifts to county officials, impose new reporting requirements on lobbyists and develop a code of conduct for local politicians--all in an effort to toughen ethics standards for politicians.

But officials must ensure the laws are followed, he said. Pointing to the city of Los Angeles’ problems in getting lobbyists to adhere to reporting requirements, Steiner said: “We need to understand that whatever is adopted, it has to work, and it has to be enforceable.”

Steiner has said he does not intend to accept expensive lunches from business people, as has been common practice in local government. Illustrating that theme, he invited the public to a “brown bag lunch” next Tuesday at noon at the Hall of Administration--and he punctuated the words brown bag to drive home the point for listeners at his induction.

In an interview, Steiner said the focus on ethics Monday represented a “definite” attempt to separate himself from Roth and the problems that led to the former supervisor’s resignation under fire earlier this month.

“We’re talking about a new beginning,” Steiner said.

Since last May, the district attorney’s office has been investigating allegations that Roth traded political favors for thousands of dollars in unreported meals, trips, home improvements, landscaping work, stock, an $8,500 interest-free loan and numerous other gifts from people who had business before the Board of Supervisors.

Prosecutors and lawyers for Roth met last Friday to discuss the allegations against the former supervisor, but the two sides have refused to discuss publicly any possibility of a plea bargain that might end the case against Roth.

“All I can say is I anticipate there will be ongoing discussions” with the district attorney’s office, Roth attorney Paul S. Meyer said Monday.

Roth’s staff members also took part in several expensive lunches that were paid for by business people and have now been called into question by authorities.

One of Steiner’s first tasks as supervisor Monday was to meet with his five personal aides for about an hour and to begin establishing “some structure for the office,” he said.

“There have not been real policies and practices in the office. Things have been pretty informal,” Steiner said, adding that there were only four staff meetings in six years under Roth. Without set rules, he said, “it makes it difficult to have accountability.”

Steiner said he also wanted to set the tone for his tenure as supervisor by avoiding the use of any public money for a reception with cake and punch that followed his induction.

Rather than having the county pay the tab, Steiner said that his campaign funds will be tapped to pay the bill of several hundred dollars, along with the cost of a public relations firm that Steiner hired to help with the event.

“I thought that’d be a good start,” he said.

The induction ceremony began on a symbolic note, as the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mike McKenzie, 20, who was was taken into the Orangewood Children’s Home four times between the ages of 3 and 14. He now works there as a peer counselor. He and Steiner, who helped found the home through private fund raising, became close friends along the way.

Two other friends of Steiner’s also took part in the induction. Former California Angels third baseman and Orange County businessman Doug DeCinces offered a tribute to Steiner. Maureen DiMarco, a former Garden Grove school board president who is now state secretary of child development and education under Wilson, swore in Steiner.

Steiner will face election in the June primary next year. His appointment to the post has made him a strong favorite to keep the post. But the races to succeed retiring Supervisors Wieder and Thomas F. Riley next year are still considered wide open. The turnover represents the board’s quickest changing of the guard in more than a dozen years.

Indeed, speculation about the two supervisors’ seats was one main topic of conversation at Monday’s reception, even as dozens of local elected leaders, lobbyists, and staff members gathered to honor Steiner.

“That was what everyone was talking about,” said attorney Dana W. Reed, who represents Roth and may seek Riley’s post. With Steiner now on the board, he said, “the thing is to see who will be favored for those two seats. It’s one down, and two to go.”