Don Roth Finds Himself Among Some Who Don’t Sympathize

* Just as bad pennies turn up from time to time, I almost gagged on my morning coffee when I saw the front-page article, “Ex-Supervisor Roth Aims to Start Over” (May 9).

I am surprised that Roth is surprised that he cannot find a job. It appears he is finally discovering the real-world hardships all non-governmental workers who have been unable to feed at some government payroll trough have known all their lives.

Roth first fed off the U.S. Navy, then goes into “professional” politics, then leaves his O.C. supervisor’s position under investigation.

No more pig-out lunches paid for by pork belly county lobbyists and predatory developers, no more luxury Lincoln cars paid for by O.C. taxpayers, and no more fast-lane wheeling and dealing with “the boys” in the back room now.

Let him try to get a job (any job) where he has to p-r-o-d-u-c-e something, instead of getting almost anything for nothing.

MAX ST. YVES

Newport Beach

* Poor ex-Supervisor Don Roth can’t find a job after 14 months. I would think Mr. Roth would work in one of those private industry jobs that he claimed were so readily available when he and the rest of the supervisors raised their annual salary to more than $80,000.

The other overpaid public officials should take note as to what the real world is like. High-paying jobs in private industry are few and far between. I would be willing to bet that these public officials that use private industry as an excuse to raise their salaries would be just like Don Roth in the real world, begging for a job.

MIKE STOCKI

Huntington Beach

* What gives with The Times’ front-page tea-and-sympathy coverage of Don Roth along with a picture of his poster girl?

Are we supposed to feel sorry for a supervisor who took payoffs? Who blames his ex-wife for his political demise? Who now needs a job?

It’s appropriate Roth carries in his (presumably empty) wallet Nixon’s quote that a man’s not finished when he’s defeated, he’s finished when he quits.

I have a new note for his wallet. A man’s finished when he forsakes his conscience. Conscience is that little area where a man must rule himself. Elected or appointed keepers of the public trust who display integrity are becoming harder to find than a unicorn.

Good luck finding yourself, Mr. Roth. Your community service would be admirable if it hadn’t been ordered by a judge.

But don’t even think about 1997 when your probation ends. You’ve had your last hurrah in Orange County. We’re not taking abuse of privilege anymore here.

As for job suggestions, ever think of auditioning for that popular TV show, “Home Improvement”?

MIKE NALLY

Anaheim