Mary B. Verner (born August 13, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 45th Mayor of

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

from 2007 to 2011.

Early life and education

Originally from

Fitzgerald, Georgia Fitzgerald is a city in and the county seat of Ben Hill County, Georgia, Ben Hill County in the south central portion of the United States, U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of 2020, its population was 9,006. It is the principal cit ...

, Verner received a Bachelor of Arts degree in

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

, earned her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in

environmental Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

management from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from

Gonzaga University School of Law The Gonzaga University School of Law (also known as Gonzaga Law or GU Law) is the professional school for the study of law at Gonzaga University. Established in 1912, the Jesuit-affiliated law school has been fully accredited by the American Ba ...

Career

She has served as Executive Director of the Upper Columbia United Tribes. She was the third woman to become mayor of Spokane and the first woman since a

mayor–council government A mayor–council government is a system of local government in which a mayor who is directly elected by the voters acts as chief executive, while a separately elected city council constitutes the legislative body. It is one of the two most comm ...

program was instituted in the place of a previous

council–manager government The council–manager government is a form of local government commonly used for municipalities and counties in the United States and Ireland, in New Zealand regional councils, and in Canadian municipalities. In the council-manager government, ...

system. A Democrat, Verner served on the City Council for four years before becoming mayor. Originally appointed to the council, Verner was subsequently elected to the position from which she ran for Mayor against an incumbent, Dennis Hession in 2007. Verner won with 53% of the vote, becoming Spokane's 43rd mayor on November 27, 2007. Verner was defeated for reelection in the 2011 Spokane mayoral election.

References

External links

Office of the Mayor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verner, Mary 1956 births Living people Mayors of Spokane, Washington Davidson College alumni Gonzaga University alumni Yale College alumni Women mayors of places in Washington (state) People from Fitzgerald, Georgia