1992 Gifts to 5 Supervisors Exceed $7,000 : Government: Board members, considering ban on presents to officials, declare what they received. Riley leads colleagues with $2,775.

Even as they consider a virtual ban on gifts to themselves and other officials, Orange County’s five supervisors reported Thursday that they had accepted a total of more than $7,000 last year in theater tickets, meals, roses, gift baskets and other freebies.

The companies providing the gifts read like a “Who’s Who” in the Orange County business community: The Irvine Co., Disneyland, the Mission Viejo Co., C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, Lehman Brothers and several dozen more.

The gift disclosures came in annual “economic interest” statements that government officials are required to file with the state each year by April 1 under penalty of perjury as a way of determining any conflicts of interest.

But the most anticipated disclosure statement--that of former Supervisor Don R. Roth--had not been filed. His lawyer, Dana W. Reed, said it should arrive by mail today.

The issue of what gifts politicians receive and how they report them has become an emotionally charged one since allegations first surfaced against Roth last year that he had taken thousands of dollars in home improvements, landscaping, flight upgrades, trips, and other unreported gifts from people who have had business before the Board of Supervisors.

Roth, 71, resigned his post March 1. Last week, he pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanor counts as part of an agreement with the district attorney. He was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine, perform 200 hours of community service at an Anaheim youth center and serve three years’ probation.

Roth admitted that he had violated state ethics laws that require local politicians to report all gifts of $50 or more and to abstain from voting on matters involving anyone who has given them more than $250 in gifts within a year.

In the fallout over the investigation, county officials are now drafting a virtual ban on gifts to politicians, along with new laws requiring lobbyists to report whom they represent and other political ethics reforms. All are seen as a way of seeking to restore public confidence.

The Board of Supervisors appears likely to pass these measures within the next several months, meaning that many of the gifts that the supervisors received in 1992 could soon be banned.

“I don’t like any of these gifts,” activist Shirley L. Grindle, who has helped lead the calls for a gift ban, said Thursday after the new disclosure statements came out. “I think it’s always been corrupt. All (politicians) have to do is ask themselves, ‘Why am I getting this?’ and ‘Would I be getting it if I weren’t in this position?’ And the answer is no.”

In Thursday’s filings, Supervisor Thomas F. Riley led the way with $2,775 in reported gifts during 1992, including ballet tickets from the Orange County American Italian Foundation, theater tickets from South Coast Repertory, St. Patrick’s Day flowers from Smith Public Affairs, and numerous lunches, dinners and banquets from local developers and business people. He had reported $2,556 in gifts during 1991.

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez reported $1,329 in gifts, up from $524 last year. He reported meals, Disneyland passes, a $75 White House reception and even two police helmets from law enforcement officials in England while he was on a visit there in May.

Roth’s successor, Supervisor William G. Steiner, was in third place, reporting $848 in meals, movie passes and other items as a city councilman. He reported receiving only $100 in gifts in 1991.

Supervisor Roger R. Stanton reported receiving $782 in gifts, including baseball and football tickets, meals, Disneyland passes and two dozen roses from Robert Bein, William Frost & Associates, the Irvine engineering firm whose gifts to officials at the Santa Margarita Water District have recently come into question. Stanton reported $995 in gifts for 1991.

And Board of Supervisors Chairman Harriett M. Wieder reported $406 in gifts during 1992 in theater and festival tickets. The year before, she reported having received $499 in gifts.

Attorney Reed, who specializes in political law, said many officials in Orange County appear to have paid closer attention this year to the accuracy of their gift disclosures because of what happened in the Roth case.

Even while some officials are saying “that was Don Roth and it can’t happen to me,” Reed said, “there is definitely a heightened awareness that failing to report something on your form can now be a criminal matter.”