EDITORIAL : THE POWER IS YOURS; VALLEY RESIDENTS MUST DECIDE WHAT KIND OF CITY THEY WANT.

SOME 18 months ago the Daily News dared to ask the question: What if the Valley were a city?

The answer we found was that the Valley would be the sixth largest city in America with nearly 1.5 million people. It would be the richest and safest big city in America. And it would be the most ethnically and racially diverse city in America.

With Gov. Wilson's signing into law Sunday of AB 62, the measure that makes it possible for the Valley to secede from Los Angeles and form its own city, the hypothetical question of 18 months ago is now a concrete one.

Would you be better off if the Valley were a city?

No one can yet answer that question - despite the ridiculous attacks of the naysayers, those vested interests that stand to lose mightily if the Valley becomes a city.

The truth is simply that a lengthy and deliberate process lies in the way of cityhood and no one knows what the costs and benefits are, whether the Valley would even be viable on its own.

But the San Fernando Valley is growing up politically, finding its voice and demanding respect. Whether secession is practical, cost-effective or doable, the secession movement has generated a tremendous sense of pride in our 1.5 million residents and their community.

But it also goes beyond community spirit and civic pride. Notice has been served to L.A.'s political leaders, and attention must be paid.

What a great feeling to entertain the notion that maybe, just maybe, the people of the San Fernando Valley could do a lot better job of running our own affairs than has been done by the power brokers and elitists who run Los Angeles.

Would we let our schools be run into the ground if we had power over them?

Would we let the heart of the Valley in Van Nuys deteriorate without lifting a finger to fix it?

Would we let other areas rip off $1.5 billion in our transit tax money and not give us much in return if we had a say?

Would we protect ourselves in the vast, sprawling area with only 1,600 police officers if it was up to the mayor, the council and the people of our Valley city?

No. Of course not.

If we had power over our own political lives instead of being gerrymandered into powerlessness, we would have a far different community than the one we have today as the forgotten middle-class heart of Los Angeles.

Many difficult challenges lie ahead as we explore together the possibility. And in the end we may find the obstacles are insurmountable, the risks too great.

But the most critical questions we can begin to answer today, for the answers lie in our own hearts.

What kind of city do we want to live in?

The years of misrule at City Hall downtown have stigmatized Los Angeles with a ``Blade Runner'' vision of itself and its future in the 21st century.

This, we believe, is unacceptable to the Valley.

The Valley has the potential to be a Millennium City, where the divisions of race, culture and background are obliterated by the shared concerns for a decent life for oneself and one's family.

A good education for your children, safe streets, a healthy business climate, equality of opportunity, respect for the individual - these are among the values that make up the common ground of a better city.

If Los Angeles as a whole can pull together and begin to achieve these goals, then Los Angeles as a city has a chance of survival as a place of pride and progress.

If not, then the people of the San Fernando Valley have won the right to pursue their own destiny.

In the end, it all depends on you. It all depends on the kind of city you want, how willing you are to overcome cynicism and defeatism, how much you want to participate in creating a better city, how much you want to be proud of your hometown.

The opportunity is before us. The choice is yours.