Vernon formally joins race for Democratic nomination in Iowa's 1st District

As expected, Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman Monica Vernon formally entered the race for the Democratic nomination to fill an open U.S. House seat in Iowa's 1st District.

“I'm running to bring my common sense approach to problem solving to Washington," Vernon said in her announcement statement. "I'd like to help Congress move past the gridlock and get busy working on issues that real people deal with at their kitchen tables every day.”

The seat is open because fourth-term Democrat Rep. Bruce Braley is running for the open U.S. Senate seat now held by Sen. Tom Harkin, who is retiring at the end of his current term. She joins Rep. Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, in the race for the Democratic nomination. Swati Dandekar of Marion, a former state senator and current member of the Iowa Utilities Board, is considering the race and state party officials say there could be more candidates before the June 2014 primary. Sen. Jeff Danielson of Cedar Falls announced earlier this week he would not seek his party's nomination for the congressional seat.

A long-time business owner, Vernon spent nearly 30 years raising a family, growing a business and serving the community through her volunteer work, and more recently as a Cedar Rapids city councilwoman. Vernon said her leadership on the City Council has helped set the course for sustainable growth.

“We have tackled extremely difficult issues as we recovered and rebuilt our community after the flood" in 2008, she said. "I have continued to work with other local, regional and national leaders on forward thinking, short- and long-term strategies to spur economic development, improve neighborhood safety and revitalize areas affected by the floods.”

“Now, I am excited to take my energy and passion to Washington to go to work for the people of the 1st District,” she said.

Although she had been a registered Republican until 2009, Vernon won the backing of both the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce (now called the Metro Economic Alliance) and the Hawkeye Labor Council when she ran for the council.

In a May 14 Gazette story,Vernon said the groups backed her because they knew she would be progressive and "know I want to build a better Iowa."

Vernon calls herself a moderate and a progressive and said she has "common sense on budgeting."

"I'm 55 years old, and I've spent my life getting enough education, building my family and my business and working hard on the community and the region," Vernon said. "Whether you're a Democrat, Republican or independent, I think you're looking for someone who is going to study hard, work hard and reach across the aisle. I think you're looking for someone who really cares, who wants to make a difference. And that's where I am.

In getting there, she changed her party affiliation from Republican to Democrat.

"A lot of Republicans feel the party has left them, and I am certainly one of those," she said.

Before her time on the council, Vernon served for a number of years as chairwoman and vice chairwoman of the Cedar Rapids City Planning Commission.

In her time as president of the Junior League of Cedar Rapids in the mid-1990s, Vernon led a $1.7 million campaign to build the Madge Phillips Center for homeless women and children.

A life-long Iowan, Vernon, 55, and her husband, Bill, have been married for 28 years. They have three adult daughters, Natalie, Frances and Eleanor.

The 1st District includes 20 counties in north east Iowa; Allamakee, Black Hawk, Benton, Bremer, Buchanan, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Howard, Iowa, Jackson, Jones, Linn, Marshall, Mitchell, Poweshiek, Tama, Winneshiek, and Worth counties.

On the Republican side, businessmen Steve Rathje of Cedar Rapids and Rod Blum of Dubuque are seeking the nomination. Speaker of the Iowa House Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha said he will decide this summer whether to join the race.

Visit 

http://www.monicavernonforcongress.com for more information.