VERNON, Calif. – A bill to disincorporate the City of Vernon, Calif., AB 46, which has a rich history in the American meat industry, was voted down 17-13 in the California Senate on Aug. 29 following speeches by more than six Senators urging a defeat of this measure, according to the National Meat Association.

Last week, Sen. Kevin deLeon sent a letter to Mark Whitworth, Vernon City administrator, outlining a way to save the city’s jobs while still moving its governance on the path outlined recently by former Attorney General John Van de Kamp.


The City of Vernon consists of nearly 1,800 businesses providing work for more than 60,000 people who come in from neighboring communities every day. NMA represents 20 firms in the city, mostly meat packers and processors. These businesses stay in Vernon because there is no better place in the state for them, NMA said. Speaker John Perez, by calling for disincorporation of the city, put all of these livelihoods at risk, the association charged.

On Aug. 25, the Vernon City Council voted unanimously to adopt the deLeon plan to reform the city and save jobs.