Vernetta Alston

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Vernetta Alston
Image of Vernetta Alston
North Carolina House of Representatives District 29
Tenure

2020 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

4

Predecessor
Prior offices
Durham City Council Ward 3

Compensation

Base salary

$13,951/year

Per diem

$104/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Appointed

April 13, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

North Carolina State University

Law

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Personal
Profession
Attorney
Contact

Vernetta Alston (Democratic Party) is a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 29. She assumed office on April 13, 2020. Her current term ends on January 1, 2027.

Alston (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the North Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 29. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Governor Roy Cooper appointed Alston to the North Carolina House of Representatives on April 13, 2020, following the death of late representative MaryAnn Black. Alston, a former member of the Durham City Council, resigned from the council following her nomination to the state legislature.[1][2]

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Alston earned a B.A. in political science from North Carolina State University and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[3]

Alston's professional experience includes working as a staff attorney for North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services and the Center for Death Penalty Litigation. She has also served as a member of the Durham's Citizen Advisory Committee, the Durham Peoples' Alliance Board, and the University of North Carolina Law Pro Bono Alumni Board.[3]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Alston was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Alston was assigned to the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2024

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 29

Incumbent Vernetta Alston won election in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 29 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Vernetta Alston
Vernetta Alston (D)
 
100.0
 
47,945

Total votes: 47,945
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Vernetta Alston advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 29.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Alston in this election.

2022

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 29

Incumbent Vernetta Alston won election in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 29 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Vernetta Alston
Vernetta Alston (D)
 
100.0
 
35,220

Total votes: 35,220
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Vernetta Alston advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 29.

Campaign finance


2020

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 29

Incumbent Vernetta Alston won election in the general election for North Carolina House of Representatives District 29 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Vernetta Alston
Vernetta Alston (D)
 
100.0
 
44,930

Total votes: 44,930
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Vernetta Alston advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina House of Representatives District 29.

Campaign finance

2017

See also: Mayoral election in Durham, North Carolina (2017) and Municipal elections in Durham, North Carolina (2017)

Durham, North Carolina, held a general election for mayor and the Ward 1, Ward 2, and Ward 3 seats on the city council on November 7, 2017. A primary election was held on October 10, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was July 21, 2017.[4] Vernetta Alston defeated Shelia Ann Huggins in the general election for the Ward 3 seat on the Durham City Council.[5]

Durham City Council, Ward 3 General Election, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Vernetta Alston 62.43% 21,332
Shelia Ann Huggins 37.27% 12,737
Write-in votes 0.3% 102
Total Votes 34,171
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "11/07/2017 Official Municipal Election Results - Durham," accessed November 22, 2017


Vernetta Alston and Shelia Ann Huggins defeated incumbent Don Moffitt and Lenny Kovalick in the primary election for the Ward 3 seat on the Durham City Council.[5]

Durham City Council, Ward 3 Primary Election, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Vernetta Alston 50.61% 12,446
Green check mark transparent.png Shelia Ann Huggins 26.58% 6,536
Don Moffitt Incumbent 21.31% 5,242
Lenny Kovalick 1.50% 370
Total Votes 24,594
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "10/10/2017 Official Primary Election Results - Durham," accessed October 27, 2017

Endorsements

Alston received endorsements from the following in 2017:

  • The Independent Weekly[6]
  • Equality NC[7]
  • The People's Alliance[7]

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Vernetta Alston did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Vernetta Alston did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Vernetta Alston did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2017

Alston's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY
Our immigrant communities are vital to Durham’s strength and identity. We must stand up to the discrimination and violence that has plagued our communities and be a city where everyone has a place and no one lives in fear.

POLICING
We have to demand local law enforcement that is efficient, transparent, and accountable. Communities of color and marginalized groups continue to suffer the strain of discrimination, harassment, and violence by local law enforcement. We have to reject policies designed to harass and tear apart families. We have to continue to work toward effective communication between police and residents, and demand a commitment by the department to protect and serve us all with equal regard for our humanity.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Durham is thriving in so many ways – economically, physically, artistically, but the city is thriving at the expense of poor communities and communities of color. We should value everyone who values Durham, not just those who have placed a value on Durham. We must demand living wages and economic support for all of the communities and openly reject their displacement.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Quality affordable housing is achievable in Durham. In order to get there we have to commit ourselves to it right now. We have to listen to those of us who live in threatened communities and be a steady voice for their inclusion. We also need a long-term commitment to affordable housing from the city and all of its stakeholders.

LGBTQ
We deserve equal treatment. We deserve to have our bodies and identities respected everywhere we are. We deserve governments that choose to stand up for us rather than use us as political bargaining chips. We must reject HB142 and any policy that seeks to shame and devalue us.[8]

—Vernetta Alston's campaign website, (2017)[9]

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Vernetta Alston campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* North Carolina House of Representatives District 29Won general$112,635 $63,484
2022North Carolina House of Representatives District 29Won general$130,862 $139,151
2020North Carolina House of Representatives District 29Won general$46,751 N/A**
Grand total$290,249 $202,634
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in North Carolina

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of North Carolina scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2024


2023


2022


2021


2020








See also


External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
MaryAnn Black (D)
North Carolina House of Representatives District 29
2020-Present
Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
-
Durham City Council Ward 3
2017-2020
Succeeded by
-


Leadership
Speaker of the House:Destin Hall
Majority Leader:Brenden Jones
Minority Leader:Robert Reives
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
Bill Ward (R)
District 6
Joe Pike (R)
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
John Bell (R)
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
Ted Davis (R)
District 21
Ya Liu (D)
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
District 50
District 51
District 52
Ben Moss (R)
District 53
District 54
District 55
District 56
District 57
District 58
District 59
District 60
District 61
District 62
District 63
District 64
District 65
District 66
District 67
District 68
District 69
Dean Arp (R)
District 70
District 71
District 72
District 73
District 74
District 75
District 76
District 77
District 78
District 79
District 80
District 81
District 82
District 83
District 84
District 85
District 86
District 87
District 88
Mary Belk (D)
District 89
District 90
District 91
Kyle Hall (R)
District 92
District 93
District 94
District 95
District 96
Jay Adams (R)
District 97
District 98
District 99
District 100
District 101
District 102
District 103
District 104
District 105
District 106
District 107
Aisha Dew (D)
District 108
District 109
District 110
District 111
District 112
District 113
District 114
Eric Ager (D)
District 115
District 116
District 117
District 118
District 119
District 120
Republican Party (71)
Democratic Party (49)