EDITORIAL CZAR DAVID L.A. PICKS UP THE TAB FOR FREEMAN'S NEW JOB IN SACRAMENTO.

IT'S only right that Los Angeles Department of Water and Power General Manager David Freeman has decided to leave his post to become Gov. Gray Davis' ``energy czar'' in Sacramento.

After all, Freeman has been dutifully serving Davis and the state for most of the last six months - and neglecting the interests of Los Angeles and its residents.

Now it's clear why he's been selling out the city all this time. He was auditioning for the new gig up in Sacramento.

Ever since rolling blackouts first hit the state - and awakened Davis from his slumber at the power switch - Freeman has been bailing out Sacramento on the DWP ratepayers' dime. He's been selling surplus DWP power for a fraction of market prices - cost plus 15 percent - and on credit.

That's a very generous way to spend other people's money, but it's a rip-off for L.A. - a rip-off that's made even worse by the $5 billion in taxpayer money Davis has spent buying power for private utilities' customers, at least 10 percent of which comes from Los Angeles.

DWP customers have paid sky-high rates for 20 years to pay for the monumental mistakes of the previous administrations whose policies pushed the agency $8 billion into debt and to the verge on bankruptcy. And then just as the public's investment in surplus generating capacity was starting to pay off, Freeman squandered it currying favor with his next boss, the governor.

So here's where we stand: We've got $200 million in IOUs that could be worthless and we've got $500 million in Davis' promises that are probably worthless.

And Freeman? He got what he wanted: a job in Sacramento, his old stomping grounds. He first tried to get one by running for the Legislature. When that didn't work, he decided to go for the role of energy czar, buying Davis' support with L.A.-subsidized power.

Davis is naming Freeman his top energy adviser, and plans to make him head of the state power authority as soon as it's created. Having worked for Sacramento for the last four months, Freeman will at last be on the official state payroll.

He's expected to leave the LADWP within a month, but that's not soon enough. Freeman's long-standing conflict of interest has already cost Angelenos too much.

He should go now.

To his credit, he slashed the DWP's bureaucracy and retired two-thirds of its debt. On the other hand, he wanted to sell off the DWP's generating capacity but was stopped by the City Council.

That said, he will likely be remembered for putting his ego and his own selnterest first when the people of Los Angeles desperately needed a leader who put the public interest first.