VALLEY DAYS OFFERS A FINE OPPORTUNITY TO REBUILD BRIDGES.

Byline: Ruth Galanter 

DURING the last two years, Valley politics has been dominated by arguments over city services, over secession, over fair share of whatever.

The secession and anti-secession campaigns pitted neighbor against neighbor, Valley against non-Valley, and the Daily News against Mayor James Hahn and most members of the City Council. It was nasty!

Now it's time to get on with solving problems such as the plan for Van Nuys Airport, effective management of the Sun Valley Watershed, resolution of the Bradley Landfill issue and better programs to keep young people out of gangs and to bring more jobs to the Valley.

In my brief tenure as a Valley representative on the City Council, I've seen us go from hostility to constructive action as Valley residents form our own agenda and our own sense of common identity even as we acknowledge the diversity of our Valley community.

People are working very hard to determine our own future and to make our dreams come true.

While it is certainly true that hard work builds character, it can also be tiring. What we need now in addition to hard work is a chance to enjoy ourselves and the places we represent.

And the time is ripe.

Next month the new city services building will open at the corner of Van Nuys Boulevard and Sylvan Street. This will provide better service to Valley residents, and it will allow us to begin the restoration of the historic Van Nuys City Hall.

That in turn will provide us a historic place in which to commemorate and share our history.

Built in 1933, Van Nuys City Hall is practically a reproduction of Los Angeles City Hall downtown. Following restoration, it will (like its downtown sister) include a Council Chamber so that city government can meet easily and regularly with Valley constituents.

It will also, I am proud to say, include in back a plaza area designed specifically for community festivals.

In describing to our designers and engineers what we need out there, I've found the quickest way to get the idea across is ``we need a place to celebrate Valley Days.''

The designers and engineers have got the message; now it's time for Valley residents to begin planning the festival.

The San Fernando Valley has many traditions, ranging from filming to farming to cruising and with many variations.

It is time to begin a new tradition. Los Angeles County has its County Fair, Los Angeles City celebrates Cinco de Mayo, the San Fernando Valley needs Valley Days - a festival to celebrate our communities, our crafts, our history and our people.

The Valley is filled with people who know that the first stagecoach left the Valley through Newhall Pass in 1854, that the town of Van Nuys was established in 1911 and served by the Pacific Electric Red Cars, that Amelia Earhart came from Toluca Lake, and that people come from far and wide to play cricket in the Sepulveda Basin.

But there are also Valley residents, to say nothing of the rest of the city, who don't know the rich and varied history and may not have seen the attractions which are distant from their homes.

One of my favorite sayings is that government works best when we do things with you, not for you or to you. So in the short remainder of my tenure as your representative, I'm not going to design this festival and leave you to live with it. I am going to leave you with a place reserved for the festival you design, and I am confident the City Council will be thrilled to support you.