Jennifer Brunner for United States Senate

The Search for a Progressive Champion

by Jennifer on 08.27.2009

Cross-posted from DailyKos

I’m Ohio Secretary of State and I’m running for the U.S. Senate. Last weekend I wrote a statement for SenateGuru in answer to the question, “Why should the progressive netroots support you in Ohio's 2010 Democratic Senate primary?” My answer is that I will fight to be a progressive champion, I can demonstrate a powerful record of accomplishment, and I will be the better candidate against the likely Republican candidate, former Bush official Rob Portman.

While drafting my answer, I reflected on what it means to be a progressive champion. I believe a progressive champion is someone who strives to embody the values of progress and improvement in governmental policy, who labors ceaselessly for the consistency in values and action that creates integrity, and who cares deeply about and has faith in the people.

Thinking about what it means to be progressive seems especially appropriate with the passing of Sen. Kennedy, an inspiration and example of what steadfast dedication to progressive governmental policy in public service can accomplish.

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Women’s Equality Day

by Jennifer on 08.26.2009

Women need to run for office, now more than ever. While arguments abound about whether we should even focus on differences between genders, it is life experiences that matter to making a good elected public servant.

What is different about electing a woman?

Many women's life experiences have honed skills that are exceptional for holding public office-like multi-tasking, being good communicators, listening skills, collaborating, being task driven when there's not enough time in the day.

And then there's being determined in the face of obstacles. Many women and men have faced such challenges. Those who have successfully faced and learned from them understand that it is the tough times that prepare us for even greater challenges ahead.

Today is the anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to our U.S. Constitution in 1920, giving women the right to vote. The struggle for women's suffrage was one fought by courageous women who endured taunts and ridicule, arrests and jail and even starvation to fight for the right to vote. I know as Secretary of State of Ohio what it means to fight hard to protect that right to vote for each individual voter.

[Continued in the extended entry]

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Jennifer on Why Netroots Progressives Should Support Her in the Ohio U.S. Senate Primary

by Jeff on 08.25.2009

Jennifer was asked by the blog SenateGuru to submit a 400-word statement on why netroots progressives should support her against primary opponent Lee Fisher. Here is her answer:

Netroots progressives should support my campaign because I am a progressive champion with a record of success in public service and the best chance of defeating the likely Republican candidate in the general election.

Progressive Champion: If elected, I will become the first woman Senator from Ohio and will join only 17 women Senators, advancing the causes of gender equality and women's rights.

During this Senate campaign, I have taken strong public stands on progressive issues. One of our first major policy initiatives was to call for full marriage equality. I am a vocal supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act, and have called on the President and Democratic members of Congress to retain a strong public option in federal health care reform. I have stood up for consumers by calling for upholding credit card rate caps and have endorsed federal legislation to reform student loans. For these unflinchingly progressive positions, I have earned the endorsement of 21st Century Democrats and the 75,000 member-strong United Food and Commercial Workers in Ohio.

A Record of Success in Public Service: In 2006, I was elected Ohio Secretary of State and kept my promise to restore fair and honest elections in Ohio. This was in sharp contrast to the failures of my predecessor, Ken Blackwell, co-chair of Bush's presidential campaign. For restoring integrity to Ohio's elections, I received the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation's Profile in Courage Award, and was recently given the first Stephanie Tubbs Jones Public Service Award, recognizing me as the person who best reflects the late congresswoman's commitment to justice.

Best General Election Candidate: I am clearly the strongest candidate against likely Republican nominee Rob Portman. My campaign has continued to accelerate, signing up thousands of volunteers into an organization called The Brunner Brigade.

I have broad appeal to women and independent voters. A recent study of polling in sixteen 2010 Senate and gubernatorial races showed me leading my likely GOP opponent among independent voters by nine points, the largest lead of any Democratic candidate polled, and better than my primary opponent by eight points. I also led Portman among moderates by 23 points, three points better than my primary opponent.

I have won every election I've been in. I won my statewide race for Secretary of State in 2006 by over 500,000 votes (15% of the votes cast) in a four-way race, having raised $1.86 million in a down-ticket race.

The commenters have greeted Jennifer's statement with enthusiasm.

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A Public Option is Not Optional

by Jennifer on 08.18.2009

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Jennifer Gets Enthusiastic Response at Netroots Nation

by Jeff on 08.17.2009

I travelled with our next U.S. Senator to Pittsburgh to attend the opening day of Netroots Nation, where she met with bloggers and progressive activists from all over the country. She conversed with participants from the Buckeye State at the Ohio Caucus; was interviewed live on Air America by Ron Reagan (pictured at right); was also interviewed by Huffington Post's Ryan Grim and AMERICAblog's Joe Sudbay (posted on the video page); met for coffee with a dozen bloggers from around the country; and talked to numerous Progressive luminaries including bloggers Markos Moulitsas (founder of DalyKos), Chris Bowers (now at OpenLeft.com), and Sam Stein (Huffington Post); Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD) and Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH); Chris Hayes (the Washington editor of The Nation and frequent guest on Rachel Maddow); and Robert Borosage of the Campaign for America's Future, a frequent contributor to Huffington Post. Additional photographs are on the campaign Flickr page, Facebook page, and MySpace page.

UPDATE: Jen Nedeau, editor of the Women's Rights blog at Change.org, posted about meeting Jennifer here. She notes that Jennifer is a mom of three kids who has over 30 years of experience in the public sector, and that by running she is challenging the status quo. "I am going to reach into my pocket and support [her] financially - I hope you will consider doing the same," she continues. "If we truly want to see more women in elected office, we have to not only get the word out, but help them prove that they are competitive candidates early on with enough money to win the race." Joanne Bamberger of PunditMom writes here that Jennifer is "amazing, articulate, committed to preserving our electoral processes (remember how hard she had to work to defend Ohio in 2008?)" and dedicated to "helping her state of Ohio that is bearing the brunt of [the economic downturn]."

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My Ohio “Innovation Trail” Tour

by Jennifer on 08.14.2009

I'm writing today to announce the kickoff of my Ohio "Innovation Trail" tour, which will be an integral part of my campaign for the United States Senate. The more I travel around our state, the more impressed I am at the ingenuity, determination, and creative spirit that exists everywhere, from Toledo to Steubenville and from Cedar Point to Portsmouth. I will continue to talk about jobs and ways we can get ourselves out of the economic mess that is the result of Bush-Portman economic policies, Wall Street greed, a broken health-care system that hurts our global competitiveness. But it's every bit as important for us to focus on what's working. What's working is the talent, hard-work, and creativity of everyday Ohioans coming together to find solutions and it's time to recognize them.

Historically, Ohio has been on the cutting edge of innovation. We gave America Thomas Edison and the light bulb, Granville Woods and the mobile railway telegraph, Josephine Cochran and the dishwasher, and of course The Wright Brothers and the airplane. As my friend Dick Celeste used to say, 'America didn't build Ohio, Ohio built America.'

Our Ohio Innovation Trail tour will be targeted toward encouraging Ohio's entrepreneurs and assisting small businesses with big ideas. We're going to celebrate the next generation of American innovation here in Ohio. We're going to go all over the state, meeting with our small business inventors and visionaries to help ensure they have the tools they need to create new jobs and build new companies. We'll also be establishing a place on our web site for people to nominate Ohioans who are leading the way to new ideas and new jobs.

Make no mistake, job creation, small business assistance and economic development are critical points in this campaign. Ohio families are hurting right now and we're moving in the wrong direction. Unemployment is going up and jobs continue to evaporate. We need concrete and measurable action to keep Ohio jobs that keep Ohio workers productive and keeping our economy going, and we need to be far more proactive in encouraging job creation and innovation to do that. Ohioans are a diverse and resourceful people with a persistent and strong work ethic. This tour is a positive way to highlight and enhance what we have to offer ourselves and the nation. I believe a percentage of federal stimulus dollars should be set aside to encourage innovation. Ohioans have what it takes, we just need to put real public leadership behind those efforts - because the end result will be more home-grown jobs and a higher standard of living.

[Continued in the extended entry]

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The Politics of Empowerment

by Jennifer on 08.13.2009

[The following is cross-posted from Huffington Post]

I am Ohio's Secretary of State and I am running to become a U.S. Senator. I am seeking this office at a time of particular challenge and opportunity for our nation. I believe that we are at a crossroads for our country and our political party organizations, compelled to choose between perpetuating the politics of power -- which has divided us and exacerbated our problems -- or committing ourselves to a new politics of empowerment. I am publishing this blog post just before traveling to Pittsburgh for the opening day of Netroots Nation, an annual gathering of progressive activists and bloggers now in its fourth year, which I see as an important event for furthering what I mean by the politics of empowerment.

We have traversed new territory with the Democratic Party's nomination and the voters' election of Barack Obama as our 44th President. He touched us in ways not before experienced, and we stepped up in ways that would have made President Kennedy proud. We yearned for change, having been deprived of some of the most basic elements of civility and decency under the Bush regime, and we worked together for change in an historic and inspiring election.

Some supported Obama out of loyalty to the Democratic Party. Others joined the cause inspired by a man who is truly remarkable and has transcended the differences that had previously separated and diminished us. Others were inspired by the youth in our country who knew instinctively that this was someone they could trust and believe. None of us was left untouched by the profound changes that his candidacy, and now his presidency, have impressed upon our country and the world.

As a country, we made our decision based on hope. Hope reflects what is essentially the American soul--the American dream. We chose a president with improbable roots, singular self-awareness, and extraordinary empathy. Our new president has figured out who he is and what he needs to do on the mission with which he has been charged by the American people. What the election of President Barack Obama has demonstrated is a new type of politics--the politics of empowerment --which prevailed over the politics of power.

[Read more after the break]

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Jennifer Attending Netroots Nation Tomorrow

by Jeff on 08.12.2009

Jennifer is excited that she will be attending the opening day of Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh tomorrow afternoon and early evening.

In its fourth year, Netroots Nation "amplifies progressive voices by providing an online and in-person campus for exchanging ideas and learning how to be more effective in using technology to influence the public debate," featuring expert panels, progressive film screenings, practical training sessions and workshops, and "the most concentrated gathering of progressive bloggers to date." President Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker.

I'll be accompanying Jennifer to the event, and our plans include attending a caucus of attendees from Ohio, video interviews by bloggers, a special meetup with national and local bloggers, and of course interacting with progressives from all over the country. Check back on this blog on Friday for pictures and more.

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MSNBC: Focus on Ohio and Missouri Senate Races

by Jeff on 08.10.2009

"Focus on Missouri and Ohio: Without a doubt, the two biggest Senate battlegrounds next year will be in the Show Me State and Buckeye State, and they'll give us a good read on the health of the two political parties. If the Democrats lose both, it will suggest that the party's successes in these states from 2006-2008 -- including gubernatorial and senatorial wins in both states, as well as Obama winning in Ohio and narrowly losing in Missouri -- might have come to an end. But if Republicans lose both -- with well-known figures from Bush years at the top of the ticket (Roy Blunt in Missouri and Rob Portman in Ohio) -- that would suggest that the Bush and GOP brands are still major problems for the party. Bottom line: The best way to judge who "wins" or "loses" the 2010 midterms will be in these two states, pure and simple. And they will be the most dominant races the media will focus on next year."

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Are You Following Jennifer on Twitter?

by Jeff on 08.07.2009

Jennifer has quickly become a star on Twitter -- are you following her yet? People love her updates, called "tweets," which are short reports on the campaign, her life, interesting links, news bits, and even philosophical observations. I received an email today from someone who attended the Lakewood Democratic Club meeting last night, where several people were praising Jennifer's tweets as "rays of sunshine" that brighten up their days.

Here are the last half dozen tweets (Jennifer posts several per day):

Heading north w/Rick on I-71 in convertible w/my orange crush & Damien Rice playing on radio. What a day this is. Happy weekend!

Breakfast w/Rick @ Clarmont w/personal and political updates from old friends; Friday mornings are good times at Clarmont w/weekend at hand

@Netroots_Nation I'm running for the U.S. Senate from Ohio and I'm looking forward to attending the opening of #nn09 on 8/13 #p2 #topprog

Great event at Paula & Sam Barone's in Mt. Vernon-their home is the epitome of how you'd dream of America & carries that spirit, too.

Spoke to informed members of Knox County Dem Women's Club in classroom @ Educ'l Services Center where LPNs train. Met some special people.

Highland County visit yesterday left me thinking about a lot. Discussed in my blog: http://tr.im/vhMd

Follow Jennifer at Twitter.com/JenniferBrunner.

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Please Ask Your Senators and Representatives in Congress to Support Student Loan Reform Legislation

by Jennifer on 08.07.2009

[The following is cross-posted from the national blog DailyKos]

I’m the Secretary of State of Ohio and a candidate for the U.S. Senate. You may know me from my efforts to ensure a democratic, free, fair, open, and honest presidential election in Ohio in 2008, for which I received a John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

I decided to run for the Senate to fight for the betterment of the lives of everyday Ohioans. I plan to work with my state's citizens and community leaders and other members of Congress to find and apply effective ways to do this. I entered this race to join Sen. Sherrod Brown as a progressive champion in the Senate. If I succeed, I will become the first woman to represent Ohio as a U. S. Senator. One of the issues about which I am most passionate is ensuring that our children and their families can afford the higher education they need today. This vital issue is linked to accountability on the part of bank bailout recipients, and is vital to our nation's economic future.

More on this issue and pending reform legislation, and how you can help, after the break.

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Pollster: Ohio Most Likely Senate Seat to Change Party

by Jeff on 08.05.2009

Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling reports on his blog that of the eleven 2010 U.S. Senate races he has polled, survey results indicate that Ohio is the most likely to switch from one party's column to the other next year:

"We found Lee Fisher and Jennifer Brunner both leading Rob Portman in mid June by margins of 41-32 and 40-32 respectively. Portman is going to have trouble even with Obama's numbers on the decline because he is so closely tied to Bush, whose unpopularity the current President is nowhere close to matching. ..."

Jensen also finds that Kentucky has a moderate chance of going blue, and there is a lesser chance in New Hampshire and Missouri. However, Delaware could go red and Colorado and Illinois are by no means safe.

PPP has not yet polled the U.S. Senate races in Connecticut, Nevada, or Pennsylvania.

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Last Night in Highland County

by Jennifer on 08.03.2009

Last night I went to the Highland County Democratic Party picnic.  I had attended this event 4 years ago, and clearly, this event was different from 4 years ago.

Times are tough in Highland County, more than in other southern and southeastern Ohio counties.  I talked to Gary Heaton, the Highland County Commissioner with the most seniority - he's finishing his first term on the commission.  The two outgoing Republican commissioners last year outvoted Gary and took out a loan for the county of $200,000 that the county is now paying back this year.  The outgoing commissioners did not want to admit that the county was in trouble on their way out.

With the downturn in the economy consider these facts Gary told me one after another in a 5-minute conversation:

40% of the population of 42,000+ in Highland County are using the services of the Highland County Community Action Organization, which provides needed services to income eligible residents, including Head Start, housing and transportation assistance, food bank and health services.  During non-economic downturn times, the percent is about 20%.

The unemployment rate in Highland County is tied with Meigs County at 4th highest in Ohio at 15.9%, and the county does not have a reliable way to quantify how many have fallen off the unemployment rolls.

With the closure of DHL, and some severance payout, the impact of closure is delayed, and the county cannot be sure who may still be needing benefits but have not yet applied.  Without significant industry of its own, the county's residents have traditionally worked in manufacturing in Cincinnati and Dayton, but many of those jobs have disappeared.  

Johnson Controls will shutter its facility in Greenfield, Ohio and layoff 205 workers. The cuts have already started and are scheduled to continue until October.

Greenfield, a village of just under 5000 people in the 2000 census (and birthplace of country singer, Johnny Paycheck) is located in Highland, Fayette and Ross Counties along the Paint Creek.  Greenfield is so hard hit that its village budget has been cut 70%, and only one employee remains in the fire department, the chief.  The city hopes that in case of fire, volunteers will fill in.

County government in Highland County has cut its budget by 20%.  When travel is needed to Columbus, the Commissioners pay their own travel costs.  The members of the board of elections have personally paid for travel costs of the board's employees to attend training out of county.  

Businesses through the local chamber of commerce have been trying to buy as many of their products and services locally to help the economy, but not all that is needed can be found locally.

I was told that the subject of jobs would be a good topic to speak on . . . Yes, I would think so.

What do you tell people who are trying to make it in times like these? You start by telling them that you care.

You tell them that Ohioans are good people who work hard, try to do the right thing, take care of their families and have a lot of common sense. You tell them that you believe in them.

You tell them that the reason you want to go to the Senate is to bring federal dollars back to Ohio and work with them, the Governor, local officials, business, labor and civic organizations to apply those dollars strategically, working together to stretch those dollars as far as they can go to grow more jobs.  

You tell them what you have done to relieve others' suffering, whether it's building a new community program to stop crime and heal people committing crimes because of their substance abuse and mental disorders, or cleaning up a dysfunctional election process that marred the state's reputation across the nation and world five years ago.

You tell them that the reason you want a public option for health insurance is to ease the burden on employers and to stimulate entrepreneurship.  

You tell them that you will be there for them, and you ask them to help you get there.  

But in the meantime, what can you do?  You start by telling others, and you promise that you will fight for them.

These are not easy times.

P.S. - As I left last evening, the party chair gave me a basket full of fresh tomatoes and vegetables from the garden.  It was the best and most generous gift I could have received.  These are good people.

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