CALIFORNIA COMMENTARY : Some Thoughts for a New Mayor : Gather allies, make enemies if necessary, but most of all, think regionally and keep your eye on the economy.

Mr. Mayor: We all feel battered, as though we have been dragged against our will into a vicious character-assassination contest.

But now you have won. And you owe it to us to become the strong, risk-taking regional leader we need.

Here are a few thoughts that might be helpful as you undertake your new challenge.

1) The goal is not diversity. The goal is effectiveness. I would be delighted to see a government of flying purple anteaters if they brought intelligence, competence, energy and a determination to work for change.

2) Get rid of the old guard. Sweep out wherever you can. They’ve had their day.

3) Don’t fill the government with your cronies and contributors. Having been with you longest and given you most does not mean they will help you govern best, as President Clinton has found out to his chagrin.

4) Form alliances with Southern California’s women in Congress. Sit down with Feinstein and Boxer in the Senate, and Roybal-Allard, Waters and Harmon in the House. Develop a priority list and ask them to sell it to their colleagues.

Our many members of Congress have gotten off too easily for too long. They have failed to use their legislative clout to deliver the programs we need. Get these legislators to push their fellow members into line to get the Clinton Administration to direct substantial infrastructure investment our way.

5) Speak for the region, not just the city. Pull together regular meetings of regional leaders. In a county with almost 90 cities and an overlapping tapestry of geographic boundaries, we will rise or remain fallen as a region.

6) Put the Los Angeles County Supervisors’ feet to the fire. Collectively, they seem to be napping in the driver’s seat while alarm bells are going off all over the county.

7) Be ruthless in shaking up the bureaucracy and demanding performance. Cut, cut, cut if productivity cannot be demonstrated. Reorganize the bureaucracy so it works to promote investment in the region rather than hinder it.

8) Aim for a loyal working majority on the City Council. Whether you follow the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley) or Machiavelli, do what you have to do with appointments and favors to get that majority of members who can see the city and the region as a whole.

Too many of them have thought of themselves as block captains with no larger role in the nation’s second-biggest city. You will have some new faces on the council, so the recent pathology of ineffectiveness might be more easily broken.

9) Be willing to make enemies. “Nice” is not what we need right now. Sometimes the loud, squeaky wheels should not be greased, they should be replaced. Let people know which lawmakers in Sacramento are working hard on behalf of Los Angeles. Ensure that they have a coherent regional program.

10) Use that “bully pulpit” well. It can be your strongest ally. Share the credit with those who are working to direct needed programs and resources our way. Call on the carpet, by name, those who aren’t. Get us all invested in the job of rebuilding L.A.

Most of all, keep your sights on Los Angeles. This is too important and risky a historical moment for us to be saddled with a mayor who too quickly develops larger political ambitions. You were vicious in working to get this job. Now show us that you can do something with the prize.

For this region, as you know, “It’s the economy, stupid.” The economy is about new jobs and the transportation to get those who need jobs to where the jobs are. It’s about affordable housing; it’s about neighborhoods where you can feel safe and it’s about young people who are trained to do the jobs that need doing. It’s about using our government spending to help undergird the economy and it’s about making realistic assessments about supporting new industries. It’s also about recognizing that we have large areas of blight that will not regenerate without some government leadership, and it’s about remembering that three-quarters of the residents in this city you will lead are women and children, many of whom have special needs that cry out for attention.

At the moment, we are wary of you. But we are willing to give you a chance. We want you to make us proud of you and the job you are doing. Next time around, money or special-interest endorsements won’t get you reelected. It’s whether you were up to the challenge we voted Tuesday to give you.