EDITORIAL DEFLATED MYTHS.

ADD two more items to the long list of exposed anti-secession lies.

The first myth to crumble under the light of day is the specious claim that somehow a Los Angeles address is a priceless asset in the real-estate market - if the San Fernando Valley leaves L.A., housing prices will tank.

City Council President Alex Padilla made the claim during a speech to Valley Realtors back in July. He told the story about a family friend who, upon reading up on secession, purportedly called him and asked, ``Should I sell my house now?''

``If one person is thinking that,'' Padilla cautioned the audience, ``how many people out there are thinking that? There's a lot of uncertainty out there, a lot of fear and a lot of concern.''

Clearly the Realtors, who know housing prices better than anyone, were unimpressed. On Wednesday, the Southland Regional Association, which represents 7,300 real-estate agents throughout the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, endorsed secession.

In large part, its members overwhelmingly believe that a government that truly responds to the needs, values and interests of all segments of the community would improve the quality of life and improve property values.

The downtown power structure's pandering to fear and uncertainty in this regard was absurd to begin with, neatly disproved by Burbank, Glendale or any other number of local cities. An average house in Calabasas goes for more than $100,000 more than its nearby Woodland Hills counterpart, and that surely has something to do with the smaller city's superior public services and better schools.

That's how the real estate experts see it.

They figured that in a Valley city, where local communities have more power and influence over municipal government, streets would be better maintained, police service would be more consistent and government would be more accountable. They also see an empowered Valley as the first key step to reforming - or breaking away from - the LAUSD.

The second anti-secession myth to wither and die this week is the oft-repeated claim that Valley cityhood would mark the end of rent control. With more than 90 percent of the candidates for Valley office signing a pledge to maintain rent control in the new city - many promising to toughen L.A.'s weak law - that argument should be put to rest once and for all.

And with the implosion of these two myths, we now have a better idea of what a Valley city might be like - a place that accommodates the needs of both homeowners and renters alike.

That's the promise of local control, that when government is closer to the people, government policies can better accommodate the needs of the public. At the heart of the secession debate is a public yearning for more say in its own affairs - but the downtown power structure of Los Angeles has long been indifferent.

It shouldn't take secession to empower communities, but after the insiders eviscerated neighborhood councils, crushed breakup of the LAUSD and scrapped the idea of a borough system, secession appears to be the only empowerment vehicle left to consider.

And unlike other efforts to bring genuine reform and democratic institutions to Los Angeles, secession won't be decided in back rooms by the people who have for so long abused their power. It will be decided in the privacy of the voting booth by individual voters.