Speaker Perez threw the full power of his office against Vernon. He's argued the tiny industrial city is too corrupt to be reformed. But only 13 of 40 Senators agreed with him. Several of Perez's fellow Democrats either abstained or voted no - including Senator Kevin DeLeon, who pushed the Vernon City Council to adopt several reform measures last week:
VERNON1A / DeLeon: "We have a responsibility to do everything possible to clean up corruption and at the same time, balance the needs by protecting real jobs, real lives, real families."
After the bill failed, the Speaker released a statement criticizing DeLeon and another Democratic Senator who opposed the bill by name. He said those senators will "own the responsibility for any misdeeds that may occur in the future."
