EDITORIAL : TAXING OUR PATIENCE; THE L.A. ETHICS COMMISSION WANTS TO GIVE AWAY MILLIONS TO POLITICIANS IN A CITY TRASHING ITSELF.

CALL it Los Angeles' version of the popular TV show ``Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'' Or better yet call it, ``Greed.''

The City Ethics Commission wants to give away millions more in matching funds to candidates for mayor and other city offices in the 2001 elections.

The commission - which shows a greater penchant for playing politics than actually cleaning up the cesspool of unethical conduct that goes on at City Hall - wants to give candidates $2 for every $1 they raise instead of the $1 for $1 match in place today.

What a joke!

Maybe it should be called the City Politics Commission since it has done absolutely nothing to expose City Hall's influence peddlers, the links between city contracts and political contributions and the abuses of power engaged in daily by council members.

The commission proposes to give a maximum bonanza of $667,000 to any mayoral candidate who can raise half that much in contributions of $500 or less.

Survive the primary and face off against an opponent who is rich or exceptionally adept at fund-raising, and the candidate would be eligible for the $1 million jackpot. The most any mayoral hopeful can receive is $800,000.

Why is the Ethics Commission giving away all that cash to candidates when the city can't afford to pave the sidewalks or put a garbage dump anywhere except in people's back yards?

The line being sold publicly is to make it easier for more people to run for city office and make the races more competitive.

Of course, there isn't a shred of proof that doubling the matching fund ratio would do this. Voter approval of matching funds nearly a decade ago hasn't achieved any of those goals.

With the rarest exceptions, our elected officials still are political hacks and multimillionaires.

And who gets the bill?

You, the taxpayers, of course.

Whatever its secret agenda, the Ethics Commission is considering imposing the new funding rules for the 2001 elections. There's nothing like changing the rules in the middle of the game to benefit candidates already in the race.

The 2001 mayoral campaign has been under way, whether you were aware of it or not, since April. Candidates are given 24 months to raise money for their elections.

Under current rules, candidates could only apply for matching funds for small contributions received in the last 12 months of the election.

The proposed rules, which still need approval of the City Council, would allow all contributions in the two-year, fund-raising period to count toward the matching fund pool.

The bogus rules also fail to make it easier for candidates to keep up with a wealthy opponent who writes checks to fund his or her own campaign.

All this manipulation shows is how unethical the Ethics Commission can be. They ought to put these items up to vote so the Los Angeles residents, who created the commission, can have the final say in how their money is spent.

Or perhaps we should require that ethics commission members be drawn from a pool of retired FBI agents who might spend their time and the public's money exposing the backroom deals and corrupted politics down at City Hall.

In any event, there's $1 million out there for anyone willing to play the game.