Sometimes, the little guys actually do win.

On Sept. 29, the City of Vernon walked away from its dragged-out, no-holds-barred battle to build a combined-cycle power plant using three natural gas-fired combustion turbines and one steam turbine to crank out 943 megawatts of electricity - along with enough small particle matter to kill up to 33 men, women and children every year.

"Thanks be to God, it was a three-year fight and we won," said Msgr. John Moretta, the long-time pastor of Resurrection Church in Boyle Heights, who helped spearhead the campaign since its inception. "It shows that the little guy can't give up."

Not even against formidable opposition. In this case, that included a well-financed city with "unlimited resources," a major law firm, and a large public relations firm that promoted the job potential such a plant would bring to the community.

"So the lesson is just to keep going, and the little guy cannot give up even though the odds may be against him. My parishioners are very relieved, very, very relieved," he reported.

For the 68-year-old priest, who has been Resurrection's pastor for 26 years, building a mega-power plant that the American Cancer Society estimated would kill up to 33 area people a year as well as cause all kinds of lung, heart and carcinogenic health problems for his mostly poor and working class flock of Mexican descent couldn't be a clearer moral issue.

He points out that Vernon and its surrounding cities of Huntington Park, Maywood and Commerce are already some of the most polluted locales in the Southland because of the industrial 5.2-square-mile municipality's high concentration of factories, waste management centers and meatpacking plants. With only 90-some permanent residents, more than 1,000 businesses employ 44,000 men and women in Vernon.

Diesel fumes from trucks and freight trains only add to the already toxic airborne mix that drifts wherever the Southern California winds decide to take it.

"What Vernon was proposing was really unconscionable, and that's why I put three years of my time to fighting this," Msgr. Moretta said. "It very much infuriated me. But I don't think any pastor would be neutral if he was in a parish and knew a quarter mile away would be this plant that was going to cause death to his people. So this struggle was part of my priesthood."

'Hero of Boyle Heights'
At an evening victory party in Resurrection's parish hall, more than 200 people celebrated with Mexican food, Mariachis and dancers. Msgr. Moretta was repeatedly applauded and toasted as "the hero of Boyle Heights." He and other leaders of the prolonged campaign made speeches from the wood stage.

One who was introduced by the pastor and received a sustained standing ovation was attorney David Pettit of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which represented the people pro bono along with lawyers from Communities for a Better Environment. The NRDC and its allies had won a huge victory in July 2008. That was when the Los Angeles County Superior Court ruled against the Southern California Air Quality Management District selling air "credits" from its own priority reserve to a private, profit-making electricity generating facility like the proposed Vernon Power Plant.

"I've been practicing law for 34 years," Pettit said. "And representing you here in this community, working with Father John and Assemblyman John Pérez and beating the Vernon Power Plant, I've never been prouder of anything I've done in my entire legal career. This kind of struggle is why I went to law school way back when I was young and the Bruins had a center named Kareem Abdul Jabbar."

Alternating between Spanish and English, L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina said the grass-roots victory inspired her "tremendously."

"It's never easy, right Father?" she said glancing over at the beaming pastor. "But we organized. We held strong and steadfast. We were tenacious. We weren't going to let it happen. There aren't many neighborhoods as strong and courageous as many of you. It's all of you that empower us to take your voices - whether it be to Sacramento, to the courtroom, to the city council - to bring about change.

"But I think we all know as well that it's so wonderful to have someone like Father John who pushes us and challenges us, including me, from time to time. So this is going to be a healthier community every single day for our children because of your efforts and our collective efforts to support you. You deserve unbelievable congratulations."

'Telling us lies'
Miguel Alfaro, who grew up in Boyle Heights, has been a parishioner of Resurrection Church for two decades. In the major lawsuit against Vernon, the 50-year-old truck driver was named as a homeowner. "What kept me going for three years was knowing that the City of Vernon was telling us lies," he told The Tidings. "They came in here and told us that there were not going to be any deaths from the power plant.

"What kept me going was I was raised here, and now I've got my own family, three kids, and I own a home less than a mile away. A new power plant is going to affect me and my family because for us it's not easy to just move. As a father you have to provide for your kids, and that's not only food and shelter. You have to provide health for them to become good citizens. I myself was diagnosed with prostate cancer about a year ago, and I don't want my kids to go through that."

Another parishioner, Loreta Valdez, said that when she and other members of the local Neighborhood Watch program found out three years ago the proposed power plant would emit deadly small particles into the air 24/7, they were outraged. It was just another example of the powers that be disregarding the human rights of the poor and working class for their own personal gain.

"But they underestimated our strength," the 58-year-old woman pointed out. "We don't have a lot of money, but what we do have is strength in numbers and a lot of heart against what's wrong is wrong. And if that weren't enough, we also answer to a higher power. We're convinced that we're all children of God with rights.

"I'm a relic of the '60s, and I learned a long time ago that there's nothing stronger than people uniting for a just cause," she continued. "When there's a wrong, you must stand up and say 'no'."

'Powerful message'
At the victory party, Assemblyman John A. Pérez - who represents the 46th district that includes Boyle Heights, unincorporated East L.A., Huntington Park, Maywood and Vernon as well as Pico Union, L.A.'s skid row, McArthur Park and Little Tokyo - was also hailed as a hero of the lengthy community struggle. But during an interview, he said the real heroes were the people and the pro bono lawyers.

"I think the victory is a powerful message in terms of the dedication of the community to keep fighting up against what seemed like insurmountable challenges," he said. "Nobody's had a victory like this before. I mean, this is really unprecedented, so this is an amazing tribute for the church-based group here at Resurrection but also a variety of other community-based organizations that worked in the coalition.

"The ability for them to leverage the Natural Resources Defense Council to get involved was monumental," he stressed. "That was absolutely one of the keys. You needed both elements. You needed the community organizing that happened here, and then you needed the legal efforts that NRDC put forward. Either one without the other wouldn't have resulted in this victory."

The first-term assemblyman also believes that Vernon "absolutely underestimated" the community's outrage over the proposed plant and, moreover, its ability to come together to fight it. He says the truncated smokestack city, which he calls a "fiefdom" that operates under a feudal model, will now press for a smaller plant. And he promised to continue the fight in the California legislature against any such effort.

"But look, I'm only one person, a legislator," Pérez acknowledged. "I'm happy to represent the community. It only works when it's this partnership: the community-based organizations, the faith-based organizations and elected officials in constant contact. Because these are very slippery opponents we have. And the moment that anybody lets their guard down is the moment that they're able to get the upper hand."