EDITORIAL FIGHTING APATHY WHAT'S IT GOING TO TAKE TO GET THE PUBLIC TO PAY ATTENTION AND VOTE?

A majority of voters has not turned out for a city election in Los Angeles since 1973 - the year Tom Bradley overcame a racist campaign against him and won election as mayor.

Since then, there has been nothing but growing apathy. Not even earthquakes, riots or a City Hall corruption scandal has awakened voters. In the recent primary in which four serious challengers were running against a wounded incumbent, only 28 percent of registered voters bothered to cast ballots. Tens of thousands of others couldn't even bother to register.

So what's it going to take to get people to care enough to pay attention and come out and vote?

Los Angeles is a city in decay, squandering its potential for greatness. This is a town built on the belief in freedom, of the unlimited potential of human beings, of opportunity for everyone.

Yet so much of the underlying city infrastructure is being allowed to rot. The city has the worst traffic congestion and air pollution in the nation. Compared with other big cities, it has only a skeleton crew of a police force standing between law-abiding citizens and criminals. Neighborhoods are slipping into decay and the middle class is being chased away, leaving only the rich and the poor.

All this is visible to everyone. And so is the corruption of the political processes, taken hostage by union bosses, contractors and consultants who thrive on the public's apathy.

Wake up, Los Angeles! It's not good enough to say, all of the candidates are the same so why bother to vote?'' All of the candidates weren't the same in the mayoral primary and there are major differences between the two candidates in the runoff. No, maybe the perfect candidate isn't running, but time is running out to try to take back the city and restore its health. A first step toward that would happen if voters in huge numbers turn out on election days.

On May 17, they will have a chance to be heard, to drown out the influence of many special interests. If the politicians knew that the public was going to be involved in large numbers, they might just change their ways.

We are committed to getting Angelenos involved in the political process by voting.

We invite your suggestions on how to do that. Should voting be made mandatory as it is in some countries? Can community groups, churches, social groups organize get-out-the-vote campaigns? What role can neighborhood councils play? Do the media, particularly television, have a duty to report more fully on election campaigns and inform the public?

There is a cure for what ails L.A. It starts with getting at least a majority of voters to cast ballots in the May 17 mayoral runoff.