EDITORIAL ANOTHER F FOR HAHN.

WHEN Mayor James Hahn received an F on last month's report card, there was at least reason to hope that, no matter how bad things seemed, he had nowhere to go but up.

It didn't turn out that way.

In January, Hahn's problem was merely one of bungling the opportunity to lead. In failing to lay the groundwork for his impending decision on the reappointment of Police Chief Bernard Parks, he allowed a divisive, racially tinged controversy to consume the city.

In February, Hahn tried to lead - but his clumsiness bordered on ineptitude. Hahn delivered his Parks verdict in the most ham-handed manner possible, allowing an ugly controversy to grow uglier still. Compounding the problem were some ethically troubling decisions.

The Parks saga began back when Hahn was running for mayor, when everyone except Hahn had an opinion on whether or not Parks should stay. By not taking sides, Hahn was able to placate his supporters in the Police Protective League and the African-American community, even as they prepared to go to war with each other over Parks' fate.

Then for his first six months in office, Hahn continued to sit on the fence while the PPL mounted an increasingly hostile anti-Parks campaign, and African-American leaders affirmed their support for the chief.

Ironically, Hahn finally announced in February that he would recommend against keeping Parks because ``a house divided cannot move forward.'' This, after his prolonged silence had divided not only Los Angeles, but also his most loyal supporters.

Shortly after Hahn rendered his Parks decision, the Daily News revealed that prior to his announcement, the mayor with much fanfare went to three African-American ministers' churches and waved checks for $25,000 in unsolicited city grants. To two of the ministers, it looked like hush money: The mayor was hoping to buy silence in exchange for his largess.

At the end of the month, the Daily News revealed that the city was still taking officers away from their normal duties to provide costly defense representation to LAPD officers accused of misconduct, even though it had paid the PPL millions to assume the burden as part of a city Charter amendment deal carved nearly a year ago.

The PPL, which provided Hahn with a crucial endorsement during the campaign, was making a bundle off the L.A. taxpayer even though Hahn had handsomely rewarded it with the three-day workweek.

Once again, it seems that Hahn has used his clout and the public's money not for the betterment of Los Angeles, but for the betterment of his own political prospects.

That was not why Hahn was elected mayor.

He gets an F in February as he did in January. He has alienated many of the people in the Valley and in the African-American community who elected him. It's time he started healing the wounds rather than exacerbating them.

CAPTION(S):

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L.A. MAYOR'S MONTHLY REPORT CARD

February: F

Cumulative grade: D-