EDITORIAL A CLASS ACT SECRETARY PRINCIPI PAYS HIS RESPECTS TO LOCAL VETS.

SAFELY ensconced in his federal office 3,000 miles away, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi could have easily ignored the plight of the local veterans who fear a cut in their services.

He certainly didn't need to fly out to Los Angeles and meet the Sepulveda VA vets face to face in North Hills.

But that's exactly what he did.

Principi visited the Sepulveda VA earlier this week, where he listened to vets' concerns, answered their questions, made promises he can keep and committed himself to examining all their issues closely.

He assured them that the Sepulveda facility wouldn't close, and vowed to repair its earthquake-damaged gym. And while he fell short of promising to keep open its popular Center for Ambulatory Rehabilitation, he spoke honestly and kept an open mind.

And he did it all on short notice. U.S. Reps. Brad Sherman, D-Woodland Hills, and Howard Berman, D-Mission Hills, only invited him to visit a week earlier. Of course, there's also the matter of Daily News columnist Dennis McCarthy, who has long taken up the fight to help the vets.

It's extraordinary for public officials these days to show genuine concern for the people they serve.

Anthony Principi sets a good example that others in public service would be wise to follow.