EDITORIAL SHARING POWER FAIRLY CITIZEN COMMISSIONERS STAND UP FOR THE COMMUNITY UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE.

THE citizens' commission that worked so hard to develop new Los Angeles City Council districts did its job openly, withstood enormous pressures from political insiders and balanced out the interests of various communities fairly.

Its final product - which is now in the hands of the City Council - would end the gerrymandering of the San Fernando Valley that has been used to rob it of its tax dollars and provide inadequate services. The map that the commission approved late Tuesday night would create five districts wholly within the San Fernando Valley - one-third of the seats for slightly more than one-third of the people.

It also would create five seats, including two in the Valley, that would give Latino candidates an honest chance of winning office, and preserve, at least for the next 10 years, three likely African-American districts.

More impressive still, the map largely reflects compact, like-minded communities of interest, making it a huge improvement over its gerrymandered predecessor.

Under the proposed plan, Van Nuys, for example, would only be split between two districts, instead of five as it is now. Some 200,000 remaining Vals who don't fit in any of the five wholly contained Valley districts would only be divided among two council seats, instead of the current three, giving them greater representation in city government.

But just before midnight Tuesday, the commission gave in to the power structure that has so zealously preserved its privileges for so long to the detriment to the city's 3.5 million people.

At the urging of lame-duck Councilwoman Ruth Galanter's representative, the commission decided to postpone implementation of the new plan for months. Rather than let the the new districts take effect on July 1, as mandated by the City Charter, it suggested the council delay implementation until as late as 2003.

That's because under the new plan, the coastal areas that Galanter currently represents would be ceded to Westside Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski. That would leave Galanter in her final year representing the Northeast Valley.

Galanter argues that Valley residents are entitled to a representative of their choice, someone from their community. It's a fair point, but not one that justifies denying justice to the entire city by leaving the old, corrupt districts intact any longer than necessary.

If she's serious about letting the Northeast Valley get the representation it deserves, she should retire now and let a special election take place.

We respect the efforts made by commission chairman John Emerson, executive director Frank Cardenas and other commissioners to further the cause of bringing democracy to Los Angeles.

They have handed the issue to the City Council, which can either stand with the people of the city who pay them the handsomest salaries for such work in America. Or they can continue to stand for themselves.

There is utterly no reason for the council to waste much time on redistricting. The work has been done. Vote the commission's plan up or down and put it into effect.

The council either stands for an inclusive government in which power is shared, communities respected and the development of democratic institutions encouraged, or it stands for perpetuation of an insider political culture, greed and self-service.