EDITORIAL DO-NOTHING REFORM HAHN, CITY HALL DRAG FEET ON ETHICS POLICY.

PERHAPS not surprisingly, the race for mayor of Los Angeles has turned into a war of charges and countercharges, with the four major challengers sniping at Mayor James Hahn, and Hahn sniping right back.

The latest challenger to land a direct hit is Hahn's top rival from the 2001 campaign, City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa.

Villaraigosa says Hahn has been dragging his feet on ethics reform, a charge that the mayor is hard-pressed to deny. When the pay-to-play scandal heated up early last year - and county and federal investigators were nipping at his heels - Hahn promised swift reform. He formed a panel to come up with solutions, promising results in 30 to 60 days.

But the public didn't even see the panel's draft report until the end of last year, and the final version is not due until sometime this week.

Meanwhile, Hahn has proposed some piecemeal reforms and signed into law a measure that bans city commissioners from raising money for political campaigns - a measure he'd opposed until public pressure became too great to bear.

All in all, a pretty lackluster effort from the man who, more than anyone else, has the power to effect serious changes in City Hall, the man at the heart of the scandal that's made the need for change crystal clear.

But the corrupt system of L.A. politics has served Hahn well. No wonder he's reluctant to do any more than he absolutely must to change it.

That's why Villaraigosa's charge of foot-dragging sticks - it's true.

Not that Villaraigosa has gone to heroics to clean up city government. He's proposed a code of ethics for city commissioners, but commissioners are hardly alone in City Hall's pay-to-play system. And neither Villaraigosa, his fellow council members nor the other mayoral candidates have proposed reforming city government in a comprehensive way.

It's easy to beat up on Hahn - he makes it easy. But the next mayor of Los Angeles needs to do more. He needs to offer a vision for finally making the city accountable to its citizens, and not the special interests.