THE VALLEY 10: People who will make news in 1998.

NAME: Richard Close

AGE: 52

HOME: Sherman Oaks

PROFESSION: Attorney and president of Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.

LATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Close co-founded Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment (VOTE), which successfully lobbied the state Legislature to adopt a bill that eliminates the Los Angeles City Council’s power to veto secession. A similar bill failed to pass the Legislature last year in the face of tough opposition from both the city of Los Angeles and leading Democrats in Sacramento.

GOALS FOR 1998: Valley VOTE is now launching an effort to collect signatures from 25% of all Valley voters--which would initiate a study by the Local Agency Formation Commission on the feasibility of allowing the Valley to secede from Los Angeles. Although VOTE is neutral on the question of secession, Close personally believes that forming a separate city would give Valley residents more effective and efficient government.

Richard Close: “The new law that makes it easier for communities to divide should be a wake-up call for city councils all over. Residents now can do more than merely complain about a problem. They can take action.”