Vernon, California
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Vernon is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city only had a total population of 91. It has the smallest population of any incorporated city in California; most of the city's land area is occupied by industrial facilities. Vernon was incorporated to promote industrial development along the railroads in the area. Consisting almost entirely of warehouses and factories, the city's main industries are textile manufacturing, metalworking, and manufacture of transportation equipment.
Vernon was home to the Vernon Tigers, a minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League, from 1909 through 1925.
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Geography
Vernon is located at 34°0'4" North, 118°12'40" West (34.001213, -118.210979)Template:GR. Vernon's zip code is 90058
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.4 km² (5.2 mi²). 12.9 km² (5.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 3.10% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 91 people, 25 households, and 23 families residing in the city. The population density was 7.0/km² (18.2/mi²). There were 26 housing units at an average density of 2.0/km² (5.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 47.25% White, 0.00% African American, 0.00% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 47.25% from other races, and 4.40% from two or more races. 89.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 25 households out of which 56.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 92.0% were married couples living together, 0.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 8.0% were non-families. 8.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 0.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.64 and the average family size was 3.78.
In the city the population was spread out with 37.4% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 15.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $60,000, and the median income for a family was $63,750. Males had a median income of $46,250 versus $33,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,812. 0.0% of the population and 0.0% of families were below the poverty line.
Industrial History
Vernon Kilns was founded in July 1931 after Faye G. Bennison purchased Poxon China Company in Vernon, California. Poxon China Company was built at 2310 East 52nd Street, Vernon, California, now part of Los Angeles. Bennison continued to produce Poxon lines, using Poxon shapes for some time before an earthquake in 1933 forced Bennison to develop original shapes for Vernon. Two fires in the late 1940's almost brought the end of Vernon Potteries, Ltd., but Bennison decided to rebuild and continued to flourish during a time when imports were not available. The company was not able to compete when a flood of foreign imports hit the American shelves and in 1958 Vernon Kilns sold its holding to Metlox. Metlox continued to market some Vernon shapes and patterns under the division Vernonware until 1989.
The company produced dinnerware, art pottery, figurines, ashtrays and other popular lines. All products were of earthenware, with clays from Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina and England. Glazes were developed from minerals mined in California and many patterns including all of the plaids were hand painted.
As the city is primarily industrial, with an extremely small residential population, it boasts a number of efficient city services, including its own Health Department, a Class 1 Fire Department, a comprehensive and strong police force, highly-subsidized housing for city employees, and a power and utilities department with extremely low rates. These services are mostly tailored towards the industrial interests in the city and governmental support; city government employees make up the majority of the residential sector.
Politics
The city held no contested elections from 1980 to 2006; as the population is extremely low and the area of the city almost entirely industrial, the government only allows for residency to be established by city employees, and has regularly voted to cancel elections (this is permitted by law, if the number of candidates equals the number of seats up for vote). Mayor Leonis C. Malburg is a grandson of one of the founders of the city, leading to frequent allegations of political fiefdom or illiberal democracy.
Elections of April 2006
In January 2006, the city came under public scrutiny for evicting three men who had planned to run for city council, effectively prohibiting them from running. Although the city is responsible for conducting its own election for mayor and city council, it does not have authority nor responsibility over voter registration. Voter registration falls under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County registrar of voters. The city cannot prohibit legally registered voters who reside within its boundaries from running for city council. Hence, questions remain as to whether or not the city had the authority to bar these candidates.
Furthermore, on at least two instances the men have been tailed by private investigators carrying unlicensed firearms, one of which resulted in the arrest of a private eye in South Pasadena in February 2006, ostensibly hired by the City of Vernon. The City of Vernon alleged that the men were part of a hostile takeover attempt by convicted felon Albert Robles, who nearly bankrupted the nearby city of South Gate as treasurer.
An election was held under a court order on April 11, 2006; however, the city clerk refused to count the ballots until the legal disputes are resolved [1].
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