For Pasadena, a Slip to Second Banana : Population: Pomona moves to first place in the San Gabriel Valley for the first time this century.

Wait a second. Pasadena, the San Gabriel Valley’s new Second City?

U.S. Census figures last week showed it playing second fiddle to Pomona in population rankings for the first time this century.

The final 1990 figures showed Pomona edging ahead, with 131,723 residents to Pasadena’s 131,591. Ten years ago, the census reported populations of 92,742 for Pomona and 118,550 for Pasadena.

To be sure, some folks in Pasadena aren’t giving it a second thought.

“I don’t think I’ll lose any sleep over it,” said Dan Poston, manager of Delacey’s Club 41 in Old Pasadena.

But there seemed to be a little defensiveness among Pasadena’s official boosters Tuesday as they adjusted to the city’s new ranking of No. 2 in the San Gabriel Valley, and sixth in Los Angeles County.

“We had reasonable growth,” said Bruce Ackerman, executive vice president of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. “It’s not like we slipped.”

“We have the emergence of Old Town,” pointed out Dominic DeFazio, president of the Pasadena Board of Realtors. “We have really great architecture.”

Besides, DeFazio said, the old notion that big is better no longer applies. When he came to California in the 1960s, DeFazio said, he saw a billboard on Wilshire Boulevard that kept a running total of the state’s population growth as it began to catch and pass New York. It’s inconceivable in this age of congestion, he said, that anyone would put up a billboard like that today. More popular, he said, would be a billboard counting the migration out.

Pomona Mayor Donna Smith, meanwhile, was cautious about claiming population superiority. She noted that the population figures announced last week by the Census Bureau, though labeled final, are subject to further review and revision until July 15.

But, she said, if Pomona is the San Gabriel Valley’s largest city, maybe that would give it more political clout. “I would hope that the county would pay more attention to us,” she said.

Being the largest city in the San Gabriel Valley is not a title that Pomona has sought, she said. “We’re not in a footrace with anyone.”

Pomona’s population surge, a gain of 42% in a decade, is partly a result of development of open space, such as the massive Phillips Ranch subdivision project, she said, and also reflects demand for the city’s affordable housing. People who cannot afford to buy homes elsewhere in the San Gabriel Valley can still find a good selection of houses in Pomona for less than $150,000, she said.

Pomona has not only passed Pasadena in population but moved within 1,400 residents of the county’s fourth-place city, Torrance. The county’s four largest cities are Los Angeles (3,485,398), Long Beach (429,433), Glendale (180,038) and Torrance (133,107).

Margo Wheeler, Pomona’s development director, said it is a significant accomplishment to surge past Pasadena, which is nationally known for its Tournament of Roses. The population jump is “something that puts a little spotlight on Pomona and reminds everyone that that place with the fairgrounds is a pretty big town.”

But Luke Van Diren, a bottled water company employee who has lived in Pomona 15 years, is not at all impressed. He said Pomona already suffers from high crime, uncontrolled development and poverty. Population growth is “not good at all if you can’t control what’s going on,” he said.

Taking a rosier view was Megan Verna, a bartender at Friar Tuck’s Bar and Grille in Pomona. She said Pomona is a good city, and it’s about time Pomona caught Pasadena, considering its advantages. “Pasadena’s too slow,” Verna said. “It’s faster paced in Pomona and the prices are cheaper, too.”