Career
She is a Democrat. She is the daughter of former council member William Cibotti and was elected to his seat following his death in 1975. Verna has drawn criticism for her support of the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) for city employees which allows municipal employees to forgo some pension payments in lieu of a lump-sump payment on the date of their retirement. Prior to the 2011 municipal election, several councilmembers exploited a loophole in DROP, allowing elected officials to retire for a day at the end of their term, and then resume work in their next term.
Following public outcry, several of the councilmembers who enrolled in DROP, including Verna, declined to run for reelection.
Others, like Councilman Frank Rizzo, Junior. were defeated for renomination. Verna is the Ward Leader of the 36th Ward Democratic Executive Committee.