Jennifer Brunner - Ohio Secretary of State

The Minority Outreach Coordinated Campaign Headquarters, Cleveland, Ohio

Posted by Rick Brunner - September 16, 2006 11:13 PM - Permalink

We set out this morning in the war wagon accompanied by Kate Anderson, our campaign manager, and Patrick Gallaway, our press secretary for the campaign. The morning was cool after the warm evening and most of central Ohio was in a thick "pea soup" fog. It was the kind of fog that one imagines when you read a Sherlock Holmes book and you almost expect to hear the "hounds of Baskerville" howling in the distance. The sun was attempting to burn through, but the landscape remained shrouded in fog for most of the trip north. It made it seem as if we were on a different route than we usually take just because one could not see very far ahead. When we got north of Ashland, the fog began to dissipate. Arising out of the mist, we could see a lot more color in the trees than we had seen the previous week. Definitely, there are some brilliant reds creeping in. With all the rain we have experienced this fall, it is clear we are going to see lots of brilliant reds in the fall foliage. The trees of northern Ohio were definitely beginning to show just tinges of color here and there in the dense green foliage.

We arrived at the Grand Opening of the Minority Coordinated Campaign in the eastern part of Cleveland. When we arrived, there were policemen directing traffic and with marked off places for the candidates to park. When the police officers heard that I was driving the next Secretary of State of Ohio, they directed the war wagon into a reserved parking space and escorted our candidate across the street. There were many well-wishers mingling on the sidewalk. Behind the building, a big tent had been erected to serve a scrumptious breakfast. The whole statewide ticket had their individual pictures on the front window glass of the building and the pictures were about four feet high each. It was great to see our candidate so proudly displayed on the front of the office building. The Coordinated Campaign is an impressive minority outreach effort in Cleveland and their offices are as impressive as the campaign being conducted there. Our candidate was the first statewide candidate to arrive and received a lot of attention. She gave a rousing speech and ended up quoting civil rights leader John Lewis in saying that voting ought to be as easy as "getting a glass of water." All too soon it was time to make our way to the next event.

Posted by Rick Brunner - September 16, 2006 11:13 PM - Permalink