EDITORIAL ANOTHER 10TH MONTH.

MAYOR James Hahn has become the quintessential C student - doing what it takes to get by but rarely shining.

For the month of April, Hahn's 10th since taking over as mayor, he has earned another C on his Daily News report card. His cumulative average holds at a steady C-.

Like all so-so students, Hahn is a mystery. He is smarter and has more talent than he shows, but doesn't live up to his potential. He settles for symbolic gestures instead of grand strokes. He acts cautiously, even when boldness is called for.

In April, Hahn showed a keen awareness for what sort of leadership the city demands, and a feel for its residents' most pressing concerns. It was as if, perhaps for the first time in his tenure, he got it - he understood that an L.A. mayor has to fight on behalf of the city's people and neighborhoods against its entrenched special interests.

And yet for all the obvious understanding of what it would take to turn L.A. around, Hahn takes only baby steps.

The mayor's $4.8 billion budget, which he proposed in April, is a case in point.

Mindful that half the city is contemplating secession, in part because of the lousy services coming out of City Hall, Hahn proposed nominal increases in spending in critical public services, a million dollars here, a million dollars there for parks, libraries, neighborhood prosecutors, public works and safety.

These are all fine and worthwhile expenditures, but they are more symbolic than meaningful, a drop in the abyss of city needs.

The same can be said for Hahn's much-trumpeted efforts to combat L.A.'s gangs: a nice gesture, but pathetically inadequate given the scope of L.A.'s gang problem.

Missing from Hahn's agenda is the necessary resolve to find more money for city services by aggressively scaling back the waste, bloat, excess and corruption in City Hall.

At least at this stage in his administration, that's a battle he clearly lacks the resolve to take on.

And while Hahn deserves kudos for his tough talk about Sunshine Canyon and Bradley landfills, it's too early to know if his efforts to move the dumps out of the San Fernando Valley will change anything. Under the current time line, no serious changes would likely take place before the Valley secession vote in November.

After that, all bets are off.

In the past month, Hahn has been saying all the right things, but it takes more than words and a few million bucks out of a city budget worth nearly $5 billion to achieve great things.

And greatness is what L.A. needs.

A steady stream of mediocre C's may help politicians keep their jobs, but it's a far cry from what's necessary to solve the problems of nearly 4 million people.

CAPTION(S):

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Box:

L.A. MAYOR'S MONTHLY REPORT CARD

February: C

Cumulative grade: C-