by on 05.08.2009
MOMocrats BLOG, May 8, 2009 - Intro: I don't live in Ohio so I didn't know Jennifer Brunner until her campaign manager contacted me. At MOMocrats, we're always interested in progressive women candidates---especially moms---so I did a little due diligence digging before replying. A reformer, I found, a straight shooter, appears to be quite intelligent, and judicious in her approach to issues. Not surprising, since she used to be a judge. I was intrigued, and I replied.
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by on 05.08.2009
Ohio Daily Blog, May 8, 2009 - With Mothers' Day coming up this Sunday, Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner took the time to write a nice piece for the blog Momocrats: Raising the Next Generation of Blue. In it, she reflects on the obstacles way too many women face in getting the prenatal and delivery care they need to deliver health babies and stay healthy themselves. She gives some examples from her own life to make the issue more immediate — I was certainly shocked to learn that her oldest daughter weighed in at 10 lb, 4 oz! This may not be THE hot issue right now (although the discussion over health-care access certainly includes it), but we should should stockpile this column as ammo. If she turns out to be our Senate candidate, it could prove useful when Rob Portman starts talking about "values" and being "pro-life," to remind voters that being pro-life means a lot more than being against abortion.
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by on 05.07.2009
By Jason Rosenbaum, DSCC Blog, May 7, 2009 - A new Quinnipiac poll released today shows both Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate in Ohio are leading the GOP front-runner Rob Portman by healthy margins. Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher leads Portman 42 to 31 percent, while Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner leads Portman 40 to 32 percent.
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by on 05.04.2009
By Stuart Rothenberg, Roll Call, May 4, 2009 - Senate primaries in three states already look like classic battles featuring insurgent candidates preparing to take on the preferred choice of “the establishment.” But each contest has its own particular features, and the three races may not produce identical outcomes.
Two of the contests are in Ohio. In the Democratic race, the party
establishment has fallen behind Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, who faces
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and a number of lesser-known
candidates in a potentially heated primary. On the GOP side, former
Rep. Rob Portman begins with a prohibitive advantage over wealthy
businessman Tom Ganley.
Fisher, 57, served in both houses of the state Legislature and as Ohio’s attorney general before being elected lieutenant governor in 2006 on a ticket led by now-Gov. Ted Strickland (D). Strickland quickly endorsed Fisher’s bid for the Senate, and allies of the governor made it clear that Brunner should seek re-election rather than challenge Fisher for the Senate nomination. But the secretary of state has other ideas.
Brunner, 52, worked in the Ohio secretary of state’s office — under now-Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) — before going into private practice. Later, she served for four years as a Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge, and in 2006, she was elected Ohio’s secretary of state. Unlike Fisher, she has never lost an election.
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by on 05.03.2009
Douglas Gibson Jr, writing on Gay Rights at Change.org, May 3, 2009 - There are few times in our lives when we have the chance to truly change the face of power. I am privileged to write to you today and ask you to join me in one of the most exciting challenges I have had the honor to be a part of. Exactly one year from today Ohioans have a chance to change the face of power. In 365 days, Ohioans can make sure they send to Washington a new face of power who offers a real vision of hope and opportunity for them and all Americans. In 365 days, Ohioans can change the face of power with a strong new leader who will stand up for them, demonstrating that hard work, integrity, responsibility, and common sense really do matter here and in Washington. In 365 days, Ohioans can change the face of power with a leader who knows how to solve tough problems and get things done, who has protected their rights, because she knows that government is for people like you, who work hard, take care of their loved ones and try to do what's right.
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by on 05.01.2009
Canton Repository, May 1, 2009 - Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat, urged women to remain active in politics as she spoke Friday at the Federated Democratic Women of Ohio’s spring convention here. Brunner recalled the lawsuit challenges she confronted in 2008 as Republicans challenged her efforts to implement policies allowing people to cast absentee votes immediately after registering. Her hope is that if voters elect her to the U.S. Senate in 2010, state voters likewise will choose another woman to be the new Ohio secretary of state. Brunner is seeking to replace retiring Sen. George Voinovich. Before holding statewide office, Brunner was a judge in Franklin County. There are three primary reasons women traditionally did not seek public office, according to Brunner. “First, they are worried about family obligations,” she said. “Second, they think they are not qualified. Third, no one asked them to do it.”
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by on 05.01.2009
Lima Ohio News, May 1, 2009 - President Barack Obama's first days are like Franklin Roosevelt's early time in office, laying groundwork for significant change in the country's social and economic culture, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said Thursday. Brunner spoke to Allen County Democrats celebrating Obama's first 100 days in office. Obama will use current economic conditions to transform health care, education, green manufacturing and alternative energy, Brunner said. The country has seen changes in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, children's health care, stem-cell research funding, wilderness land protections, relationships with other countries and the approach to Cuba, Brunner said. "That's the resting heartbeat of the White House and he's not slowing down," Brunner said. Brunner will run next year for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. George Voinovich. She faces a primary with Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher. The race is in its infancy, but Allen County Democratic Party Chairman Rick Siferd offered a public endorsement of Brunner, saying he preferred her to Fisher as the party's candidate for the seat. "My personal preference is for Jennifer Brunner," Siferd said. "She will make a great senator."
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by on 04.24.2009
Springfield News Sun, April 24, 2009 - Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is focused on her upcoming senate bid rather than worrying about the controversies surrounding the redistricting of the state’s legislative boundaries. Brunner, a former South Charleston resident, spoke with area Democrats and elected officials Thursday, April 23, as the keynote speaker at the Champaign County Democratic Spring Dinner. She touched on issues that ranged from her bid for the U.S. Senate to a national award she won for changing Ohio’s voting system.
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by on 04.10.2009
By Eric Resnick. Cleveland -- Marriage equality is one of the few issues separating two Democrats vying for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by George Voinovich, who will retire in 2010 Lee Fisher and Jennifer Brunner have declared their candidacies and will square off in next year’s May primary. Fisher, of Cleveland, is now Ohio lieutenant governor. Brunner, of Columbus, is the secretary of state Both have longstanding relationships with the LGBT community and have used their political careers to help advance equality, making it difficult for those who vote on those issues to pick an early favorite That may be changing, however, as marriage equality has emerged as the issue separating the Democrats. Brunner favors it. Fisher doesn’t, but is open to being convinced. Both attended the Cleveland Human Rights Campaign dinner on March 28, and spoke in interviews about their position on marriage equality. Brunner unequivocally believes that same-sex partners should have the right to marry. She does not put any qualifications on it, nor attempt any equivocation. It is a belief she has held publicly since 1989.
Source: Gay People's Chronicle
by on 04.06.2009
Secretary Jennifer Brunner is running for U.S. Senate in the state of Ohio. Elected Ohio Secretary of State in 2006, Jennifer is the first woman in the state's history to serve in this capacity. She has since garnered national recognition for her efforts to make the state's elections free, fair, open, and honest. One of Jennifer's most significant accomplishments as Secretary of State was to overhaul the operations of the troubled Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in Cleveland, ensuring a smooth 2008 presidential election. As part of an overall effort to restore trust to elections, Jennifer spearheaded a massive voting machine study to solve problems with the security and reliability of voting machines. Read our Women and Politics blog post spotlighting her candidacy and visit Jennifer's website to learn more about her.
Source: Women's Campaign Forum
by on 03.27.2009
Citing her proven track record of fighting for Ohio's hard working families, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Ohio's largest private sector union, today announced its endorsement of Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D-Ohio) for the United States Senate. The coordinated early endorsement by UFCW Local 880 in Cleveland, UFCW Local 911 in Toledo, UFCW 1059 in Columbus, UFCW Local 1099 in Cincinnati and the International Chemical Workers Union Council of the UFCW, based out of Akron, provides the Brunner campaign with the backing of one of the state's most powerful, aggressive and effective grassroots political operations.
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by on 03.27.2009
One of America's most respected citizens, Caroline Kennedy, along with her husband Ed Schlossberg, held a fundraiser at their home for Ohio Secretary of State and United States Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner Thursday evening. Kennedy noted that this was the first time she had held a political fund raising event for someone who is not a member of her family. She said that endorsing Brunner and helping her get elected is of importance to Democrats and the nation.
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by on 05.12.2008
A series of voting irregularities in several major Ohio counties that use electronic voting systems led newly elected Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to order that paper ballots be provided to any voter who requested one during the state’s March 2008 presidential primary. Furthermore, after a study of the state’s new electronic voting systems – just two years old and representing millions in public investment – found that the systems made by several major voting machine manufacturers could be compromised, Brunner called for the replacement of all of the state’s electronic voting systems with paper ballots and optical scan technology before the November 2008 presidential election. Brunner’s proposal brought pointed and persistent criticism from partisans around the state; opponents of the move objected to the cost and questioned the necessity of returning to paper ballots. For her political courage and her commitment to ensuring the enfranchisement of every Ohio citizen, Jennifer Brunner is honored with the 2008 Profile in Courage Award.