Representative Vernetta Alston Contact information

Vernetta Alston is an American Democratic politician and attorney. She is currently serving as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 29. She assumed office on April 13, 2020.

Born in Durham, North Carolina, Alston grew up in Cary. She attended Immaculata Catholic School, a private school run by the Order of Friars Minor in Durham. She graduated from Cardinal Gibbons High School, a private Catholic high school in Raleigh. She attended North Carolina State University for undergraduate school and received a J.D. degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

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.

While working at the center, she served as co-counsel for Henry McCollum, who was exonerated after spending thirty years in prison due to a wrongful conviction. She was elected to the Durham City Council in 2017. While serving on the council, she supported a $95 million affordable housing bond.

Alston, along with Mayor Protempore Jillian Johnson, was uninvited from speaking at Immaculata Catholic School in Durham on February 8, 2019, during their Black History Month celebrations. The invitation was rescinded after there were threats to protest the event due to Alston and Johnson being openly gay public officials.

Alston is running for re-election to the North Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 29. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024. The Democratic primary for this office on March 5, 2024, was canceled. 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.