Monica Vernon

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.[1]

Monica Vernon
Cedar Rapids City Council, Mayor Pro Tempore
In office
January 3, 2008 – December 2015
Personal details
Born
Monica Wolf

(1957-10-19) October 19, 1957
Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (until 2009)
Democratic (2009–present)
Spouse
Bill Vernon
​
(m. 1984)​
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Iowa

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.[2][3]

In 2014, Vernon was defeated in the Democratic primary election for Iowa's 1st congressional district. That same year, she was an unsuccessful nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, running alongside Jack Hatch.[4] 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.[5]

In 2017, she unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Cedar Rapids.[6]

Early life and education

Vernon was born on the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She graduated from Regis Catholic High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.[7]

Vernon attended the University of Iowa and received her B.A. in journalism in 1980.[8] 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.[9]

Private sector career

Vernon worked as associate director of college relations at Dickinson State University 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.[7]

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.[10]

Political career

Cedar Rapids City Council

In 2007, Vernon was elected to represent Cedar Rapids' 2nd district on the City Council.[2] 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.[11]

2014 elections

In the fall of 2013, Vernon announced she was running for Congress in Iowa's 1st congressional district.[12] 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 Rod Blum.

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.[11] Hatch and Vernon ran against Republican incumbent Terry Branstad and lost 59% to 37%.

2016 election

On January 15, 2015, Vernon announced her bid for Iowa's 1st congressional district in the 2016 election.[13] Vernon won the Democratic primary against Pat Murphy on June 7, 2016. She faced incumbent Republican Rod Blum in the general election.[14] Blum defeated Vernon with 54% of the vote.[15]

2017 election

Vernon ran for Cedar Rapids Mayor[16] in 2017 but lost, marking her fourth electoral defeat in four years.[17]

Personal life

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

Electoral history
Cedar Rapids City Council District 2 election, 2007[18]
Candidate Votes  %
Monica Vernon 1,495 56.69
Sarah Hendrson 1,282 37.37
Robin B. Tucker 199 5.80
Write-ins 5 0.15
Total votes 3,431 100.0
Cedar Rapids City Council District 2 election, 2011[19]
Candidate Votes  %
Monica W. Vernon (incumbent) 2,966 64.10
Taylor G. Nelson 1,281 27.69
Paul T. Larson 342 7.39
Write-ins 38 0.82
Total votes 4,627 100.0
Iowa's 1st congressional district election, 2014 Democratic primary[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Pat Murphy 10,189 36.7
Democratic Monica Vernon 6,559 23.6
Democratic Swati Dandekar 5,076 18.3
Democratic Anesa Kajtazović 4,067 14.7
Democratic Dave O'Brien 1,846 6.7
Democratic Write-ins 18 0.0
Total votes 27,755 100.0
Iowa gubernatorial election, 2014[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Terry Branstad (incumbent) / Kim Reynolds (incumbent) 666,032 58.99%
Democratic Jack Hatch / Monica Vernon 420,787 37.27%
Libertarian Lee Deakins Hieb / Tim Watson 20,321 1.80%
Independent Jim Hennager / Mary Margaret Krieg 10,582 0.94%
Iowa Jonathan R. Narcisse / Michael L. Richards 10,240 0.91%
Write-in Write-ins 1,095 0.09%
Total votes 1,129,057 100.0%
Republican hold
Iowa's 1st congressional district election, 2016 Democratic primary[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Monica Vernon 21,032 67.5
Democratic Pat Murphy 10,090 32.4
Democratic Write-ins 38 0.1
Total votes 31,160 100.0
Iowa's 1st congressional district election, 2016[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Rod Blum (incumbent) 206,903 53.7
Democratic Monica Vernon 177,403 46.1
Write-in Write-ins 671 0.2
Total votes 384,977 100.0
Republican hold
Cedar Rapids mayoral election, 2017
Candidates General Election[6] Run-off Election[24]
Votes % Votes %
Brad Hart 3,599 20.38 9,528 54.15
Monica Vernon 5,361 30.36 8,010 45.53
Scott E. Olson 3,531 19.19
Gary Hinzman 1,941 10.99
Kris G. Gulick 1,503 8.51
Jorel Robinson 688 3.90
Timothy Pridegon 575 3.26
Lemi T. Tilahun 424 2.40
Write-ins 39 0.22 35 0.20
Turnout 17,661 20.32 17,573 20.19

References
  1. Smith, Rick (December 16, 2015). "Vernon's Cedar Rapids council career draws to a close". The Gazette. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  2. Carros, Adam (May 20, 2016). "Fact Checker: Monica Vernon and GOP money". The Gazette. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  3. Smith, Rick (March 30, 2014). "Why did mayoral prospect Monica Vernon change from Republican Party to Democratic Party?". The Gazette. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  4. Noble, Jason (January 15, 2015). "Monica Vernon announces run for Congress". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  5. Lynch, James (June 7, 2016). "'Tireless' Monica Vernon nabs 1st District". The Gazette. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  6. "City Elections: November 7, 2017 Linn County, State of Iowa Election Summary - Official Results". Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  7. Noble, Jason (June 18, 2014). "Hatch says Vernon is well-qualified for office". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  8. Noble, Jason (May 12, 2016). "Vernon's bid for Congress flows from Cedar Rapids flood". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  9. Lynch, James (June 17, 2014). "Hatch taps Monica Vernon as running mate". The Gazette. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  10. Ford, George (March 28, 2014). "Vernon Research Group purchased by The Gazette Co". The Gazette. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  11. Noble, Jason (June 18, 2014). "Monica Vernon signs on as Jack Hatch's lieutenant governor". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on 18 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  12. "8 Announce Candidacies for 1st District Seat Vacated by Bruce Braley", Iowa State Daily September 24, 2013
  13. Hoyle, Sam (January 15, 2015). "Monica Vernon Announces 2016 Congressional Run". WHO TV. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  14. Petroski, William (June 8, 2016). "Vernon defeats Murphy in 1st District congressional race". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  15. "Iowa U.S. House 1st District Results: Rod Blum Wins". The New York Times. November 16, 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  16. "Monica Vernon announces bid for Cedar Rapids mayor | The Gazette". The Gazette. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  17. "Brad Hart wins race for Cedar Rapids mayor".
  18. "ELECTION SUMMARY REPORT CITY ELECTION 2007 SUMMARY FOR JURISDICTION WIDE, ALL COUNTERS, ALL RACES". Linn County, Iowa. 14 November 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  19. "Official Summary Results Regular City Election and State Senate Special Election November 8, 2011 - Linn County, IA". Linn County, Iowa. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  20. "OFFICIAL RESULTS June 3, 2014 Primary Election". Iowa Secretary of State. Archived from the original on June 8, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  21. https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/2014/general/govcanvsummary.pdf
  22. "Official Results" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  23. "Official Results General Election". Iowa Secretary of State. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  24. "Cedar Rapids Runoff Election: December 5, 2017 Linn County, State of Iowa Election Summary - Official Results". Retrieved 4 December 2019.
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