SPAT HAD ITS BENEFITS FOR GARCETTI RACE.

Byline: Rick Orlov Tipoff

DID the ugly public squabble between Police Chief Bernard C. Parks and District Attorney Gil Garcetti over how the Rampart Division corruption scandal is being handled help or hurt the D.A.'s re-election campaign?

That was a big topic among City Hall insiders last week, and many believe Garcetti needed the dust-up with the chief to put some life in his image after running second in the primary election to Head Deputy D.A. Steve Cooley and facing an uphill fight in the November runoff.

``Parks had been flying high and was looking down on Garcetti flailing around in the mud, unable to move ahead on any cases and facing a runoff,'' said one official, who asked not to be identified.

``Then, on Wednesday, Parks decided to jump in the mud with him. Now, they're both dirty.''

Dirty, except it gave Garcetti a chance to turn around the knock on him that he has been too slow to prosecute cases involving LAPD cops, too passive on all cases of public corruption such as the Belmont Learning Center scandal.

After all, Garcetti charged, how can he prosecute cases if the LAPD isn't giving him the investigative files.

Many others said the exchange was almost inevitable, given the nature of the two men.

``Gil Garcetti is a perfectionist,'' one City Hall insider noted. ``Bernie Parks is a perfectionist. Put them together, and you have dysfunction squared.''

The week had its other impacts. Garcetti was forced to cut short a long-planned skiing vacation to Deer Valley, Utah, where he was staying with friends.

During the one day he was out of town on Thursday, he kept in constant touch with various officials even fit in brief media interviews, but he wouldn't say where he was.

One official who talked to him said he thought Garcetti was to be on vacation. ``I didn't ask what area code he was calling from,'' the official said.

And, in all fairness, it should be pointed out that Mayor Richard Riordan returned last week from his own ski vacation.

COULD IT BE contract negotiation time again?

It must be if the United Firefighters of Los Angeles are polling their members on the level of confidence they have in Chief Bill Bamattre and other city officials.

In their monthly, ``Los Angeles Firefighter'' newspaper, the league said 67 percent of its members blame Mayor Richard Riordan for staffing shortages resulting in the belief by 88.5 percent that morale is lower this year than last year.

All of which raises questions over Bamattre's leadership.

Fully 84.6 percent felt no confidence in Bamattre, with 89.6 percent saying he has bowed to political pressure, 90 percent believe he is unable to speak his mind, 87 percent think he is isolated from the rank and file and 72 percent believe he should be removed.

``You kind of begin to expect that every time a contract comes up,'' Bamattre said. ``You learn not to take it personally. They would have the same results no matter who is chief.''

Much of the talk regarding San Fernando Valley secession has focused on getting its fair share in services for what it contributes in tax revenue.

State Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys, also wants to make sure it has control over all the government projects in any new city - including those run by the Community Redevelopment Agency.

Alarcon has introduced a bill that will change state law to allow the transfer of CRA projects to a new city.

``Every city should be able to control projects within its boundary lines,'' Alarcon said. `It would be ridiculous to have a new Valley city that had to answer to Los Angeles about redevelopment projects in its own territory.''

The CRA has four projects in the Valley, but it is a ticklish situation because Los Angeles would want to claim credit for a portion of the new taxes that are generated in those areas.

MEDIA WATCH: In what can only be considered the equivalent of a Hail Mary pass in football, Los Angeles City Council President John Ferraro is trying to block the sale of the Los Angeles Times to the Tribune Co. of Chicago.

A motion introduced by Ferraro to be consideredby the council this week asks the Chandler family and Times Mirrorto reconsider its decision and to remain in the city.

``The announcement of this merger has been aptly characterized by someas, 'I felt like I woke up and heard that the Pacific Ocean had been sold,' '' Ferraro said, citing the paper's influence on the city's growth during the past century.

Noting there is time for a change in the sale, Ferraro asked the parties to reverse the decision to keep the paper in local hands and in the city.

Wake up, John. It will cost the Chandlers $250 million to back out and cut their stock holdings by nearly half - where they were before the Tribune offered a big premium for the company.