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.

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. That same year, she was an unsuccessful nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, 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 in the general election.

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

Vernon attended the University of Iowa 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 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.

Political career

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

2014 elections In the fall of 2013, Vernon announced she was running for Congress in Iowa's 1st congressional district. 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. 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

Cedar Rapids mayoral election, 2017CandidatesGeneral Election Run-off Election 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 3.90Timothy 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