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 the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...

. 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 Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. In 2014, Vernon was defeated in the Democratic primary election for

Iowa's 1st congressional district Iowa's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its northeastern part, bordering the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, and the Mississippi River. The district includes the cities ...

. 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. History Prior to 1990, the governor and lieutenant governor were elected in separate elections; since then they have run together on the same ticket. List See also * List of ...

, running alongside

Jack Hatch Jack G. Hatch (born March 13, 1950) is a former Iowa State Senator and American business owner. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Iowa in the 2014 election. A Democrat, Hatch served in the Iowa Senate from 2003 to 2015, and was an a ...

. In 2016, she won the Democratic nomination in Iowa's 1st congressional district. She was defeated by incumbent Republican Rod Blum 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 capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistica ...

. She graduated from Regis Catholic High School in

. Vernon attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a 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 into 12 coll ...

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. 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 1987. History D ...

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 Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois ...

, 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 Bruce Lowell Braley (born October 30, 1957) is an American politician and attorney who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was defeated in his attempt to win an open seat in the 2014 Uni ...

. That seat was eventually won by Republican Rod Blum. After that loss, in June 2014,

asked Vernon to join him on the Democratic ticket as his lieutenant governor running mate in the

Iowa gubernatorial election, 2014 The 2014 Iowa gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of Iowa. Republican incumbent Terry Branstad ran for reelection to a sixth overall and second consecutive four-year term. Branstad went on to win a histor ...

. Hatch and Vernon ran against Republican incumbent

Terry Branstad Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician and former diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 before serving as governor of Iowa fr ...

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 Rod Blum 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 American politicians