Monica Vernon (born October 19, 1957) is an American politician. She is a former two-term member of the Cedar Rapids City Council and the former Mayor Pro Tempore of

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...

. Vernon was elected to the Cedar Rapids City Council in 2007 as a Republican to represent District 2. In 2009, she switched her party affiliation to the Democratic Party. In 2014, Vernon was defeated in the Democratic primary election for

Iowa's 1st congressional district Iowa's 1st congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its southeastern part, bordering the states of Illinois and Missouri, and the Mississippi River. ...

. That same year, she was an unsuccessful nominee for

Lieutenant Governor of Iowa This is a list of lieutenant governors of the U.S. state of Iowa. The state constitution describes the responsibilities of the position: "The lieutenant governor shall have the duties provided by law and those duties of the governor assigned to ...

, running alongside Jack Hatch. In 2016, she won the Democratic nomination in Iowa's 1st congressional district. She was defeated by incumbent Republican

Rod Blum Rodney Leland Blum (; born April 26, 1955) is an American businessman and politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Iowa's 1st congressional district from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republic ...

in the general election. In 2017, she unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Cedar Rapids.

Early life and education

Vernon was born on the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

. She graduated from Regis Catholic High School in

. Vernon attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

and received her B.A. in journalism in 1980. Vernon received her M.B.A. from the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa in 1999. She later worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Iowa.

Private sector career

Vernon worked as associate director of college relations at

Dickinson State University Dickinson State University (DSU) is a public university in Dickinson, North Dakota, United States. It is part of the North Dakota University System. It was founded in 1918 as Dickinson State Normal School and granted full university status in ...

from 1980 to 1981. She was a reporter for '' The Gazette'' from 1981 through 1983. From 1983 through 1985, she was the director of public information for Mount Mercy University. From 1985 through 1987, she was a market research consultant for Frank N. Magid Associates. In 1987, Vernon founded the Vernon Research Group, a privately owned market research firm. Vernon was the company's president and CEO until it was purchased in 2013 by The Gazette Company.

Political career

Cedar Rapids City Council

In 2007, Vernon was elected to represent Cedar Rapids' 2nd district on the City Council. In 2009, Vernon switched her party registration to the Democratic Party and supported a one cent local option sales and services tax to help with flood recovery. After the Iowa flood of 2008, Vernon, as a member of the city council, helped create a post-flood redevelopment map.

2014 elections

In the fall of 2013, Vernon announced she was running for Congress in

. She came in second behind former Iowa House Speaker Pat Murphy in the five-way primary for the seat vacated by Bruce Braley. That seat was eventually won by Republican

. After that loss, in June 2014, Jack Hatch asked Vernon to join him on the Democratic ticket as his lieutenant governor running mate in the Iowa gubernatorial election, 2014. Hatch and Vernon ran against Republican incumbent

Terry Branstad Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is a retired American politician who served as the 39th and 42nd governor of Iowa (1983–1999; 2011–2017) and the United States ambassador to China (2017–2020). A member of the Repu ...

and lost 59% to 37%.

2016 election

On January 15, 2015, Vernon announced her bid for

in the 2016 election. Vernon won the Democratic primary against Pat Murphy on June 7, 2016. She faced incumbent Republican

in the general election. Blum defeated Vernon with 54% of the vote.

2017 election

Vernon ran for Cedar Rapids Mayor in 2017 but lost, marking her fourth electoral defeat in four years.

Personal life

Vernon married her husband, Bill Vernon, in 1984. The couple has three adult daughters.

Electoral history

References

External links

Monica Vernon for Mayor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Monica 1957 births Living people Iowa Democrats Iowa city council members Politicians from Cheyenne, Wyoming University of Iowa alumni Iowa Republicans Women city councillors in Iowa Politicians from Cedar Rapids, Iowa 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century Iowa politicians