EDITORIAL FAIR REPRESENTATION VALLEY CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS SHOULD REFLECT THE COMMUNITIES.

IF the San Fernando Valley were to break off from Los Angeles, it would stand to be the most diverse and best-integrated city in America.

It only follows that it should be the most representative, too.

That's why the Local Agency Formation Commission, which is charged with creating a Valley secession blueprint, should embrace the city council districting plan that affords maximum political representation to the Valley's largest population group, the area's Latino residents.

Currently, LAFCO is leaning toward a plan favored by its consultants, who drew district lines based on total voting-age population, not on registered voters. That standard tends to discriminate against an immigrant population that is increasingly becoming U.S. citizens and voting.

At this point, however, Latinos register at lower rates, so the LAFCO proposal would likely limit Latino candidates to having a chance at one or two of the 14 Valley council seats.

A fairer alternative has been proposed by the California Latino Redistricting Coalition, which uses voter registration to determine districting. Under this plan, Latinos would have a good chance to win three or four seats and a healthier voice in city government.

Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment, which is spearheading the secession movement, has backed the Latino plan, as it should.

The Latino redistricting group is skilled and capable and has successfully won court decisions that have helped increase Latino representation.

In this case, it clearly has the law and precedent on its side. In this case, districts that represent the people of the neighborhoods are also the right thing to do.

It's the issue of representation, perhaps more than any other, that fuels the Valley's secessionist sentiment. Valley residents are fed up with an L.A. City Hall that gerrymanders them into positions of electoral irrelevance and takes its cues from downtown special interests at the expense of neighborhoods and communities.

That's why the question of how an independent Valley would organize its city council districts is of such great importance. The new city, learning from the mistakes of the old one, must ensure that it's a place where all communities have a seat at the table of power and the respect for the entire community for its values and interests.

LAFCO Executive Officer Larry Calemine, who has been nothing but fair and sensible throughout secession negotiations, has expressed a willingness to reconsider the districting question.

As well he should. This is his chance to help forge a new city that is as just and democratic as it is diverse. Otherwise, there's no point to breaking away from a city that denies justice and democratic rights to all but the lucky few insiders.