Brunner News
Brunner is the best for Ohio
by on 05.03.2010
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Brunner has been outspent by her primary opponent 4 to 1. Jennifer has taken a grassroots campaign to the people of Ohio on the the Courage Express - her campaign bus. She has logged thousands of miles in three weeks going to many corners of Ohio. It reminds me of the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone's come-from-behind victorious campaign.
The first thing Jennifer Brunner did as Ohio Secretary of State was to rid Ohio of incompetent and biased election officials. They included Democrats and Republicans. I remember sitting in her office in the state capital in 2008 talking about voting machines. I was impressed with her zest and zeal despite opposition even within her own Democratic party. We also talked about election monitoring overseas. Global Panel was sending election monitors to Morocco, the Republic of Georgia and Ukraine. Jennifer was very interested.
Marc, I would go. I know we need honest officials to monitor the election but the people of Ohio need me here now. And they are my first priority. The people of Ohio have always been Jennifer's first priority. Just recently she canceled a visit to Europe with other States' Secretaries of State to speak about voting issues to US citizens overseas. But a conflict arose, and as always, the people of Ohio came first.
Jennifer Brunner should be supported in the Democratic primary and general election.
Brunner's honesty and integrity are beyond reproach.
The people of Ohio have always been her first priority.
That will be true in the US Senate as well.
Source: Read more
Brunner is the better choice for U.S. Senate
by on 05.03.2010
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The 2008 election in Ohio was free, fair, open and honest. Ms. Brunner has provided improved service to Ohio’s businesses, streamlining the process for business filings and updating a confusing website so company officials and the public can get quick answers to their questions. She has created a life quality index to help attract new businesses and jobs to Ohio.
Our boards of elections have been directed to protect from public disclosure private information on voter registration forms. She has instituted additional training for poll workers so voters can be assured that their votes are recorded and counted properly.
Ms. Brunner’s top priority is retention of existing jobs in Ohio and creation of new jobs. Her website, www.jenniferbrunnercom, details much more about what she pledges to do as our next U.S. senator. We urge you to vote for Jennifer Brunner.
Where I stand: Brunner v. Fisher in Ohio’s US Senate race
by on 04.30.2010
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As Secretary of State, Jennifer has demonstrated without question her ability to tackle an utter mess of a system. She tackled a system that suffered from extreme degradation of trust. She rescued an untrusted system that undergirds every belief we have and every hope to which we cling that we can make a difference in our world: the electoral system.
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Source: Writes Like She Talks
Brunner gets the first Veterans group endorsement
by on 04.29.2010
The Veterans’ Vision announced today that it was endorsing Jennifer Brunner in the Ohio Democratic Senate primary.
From the press release:
“We asked Lee Fisher to stand up for American veterans and he would not clearly state his position. We need to sack the slackers for veterans and we are here to say that we unequivocally stand behind Jennifer Brunner in her US Senate run,” said Maj. Brian Hampton, Publisher of the VETERANS’ VISION, making it clear which Senate candidate veterans can trust.
Secretary Brunner recently joined with 50 current Members of Congress to affirm her support for the Veterans’ Bill of Rights sponsored by the VETERANS’ VISION, a veterans’ rights advocacy publication. Her primary opponent, Lee Fisher, despite receiving numerous chances, declined to acknowledge his support for the initiative.
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Source: Plunderbund
Fisher on TV, Brunner on the bus
by on 04.27.2010
While Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher was buying cable television advertising time earlier this month, Secretary of State Jennfier Brunner was buying bus parts.
In pre-primary campaign reports covering activity from April 1-14, Fisher reported cable-TV buys of $750,000 and $150,000 on consecutive days for his May 4 Democratic primary with Brunner for the U.S. Senate.
Among Brunner's expenses were payments for diesel fuel and various supplies for the "Courage Express," the school bus she bought on eBay to travel around the state. The costs included $861.64 for a "bus exhaust pipe" and $103.50 to the state for a bus inspection.
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Jennifer Brunner stops in Cadiz
by on 04.23.2010
Ohio Secretary of State, and U.S. Senate Candidate Jennifer Brunner made a stop in Harrison County with her “Courage Express” as she makes her way across the great State of Ohio in her primary election bid for the Democrat candidate for the U.S. Senate. Jennifer returns to Harrison County after having been the key note speaker in 2008 for the Harrison County Democrat Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. Her visit today initiated the Harrison County Democrat Headquarters at 115 W. Market Street in advance of its official opening.
Jennifer has many strong and loyal friends in Harrison County because she has always been willing to reach out to the people of our wonderful communities and take a grassroots approach to her public service. Toni Starosciak is the County Coordinator for Jennifer’s campaign and expressed her appreciation of Jennifer’s desire to come to Cadiz and stop her “Courage Express” bus in front of the county courthouse and spend a little time meeting residents and taking pictures. “She is so down to earth and really cares about the individual citizen, ” said Starosciak. “Here is a woman who has served our State with pride and distinction as Secretary of State and now wants to continue to serve us in Washington.”
Source: ThisIsMyCounty.com
Brunner returns home for campaign stop
by on 04.20.2010
In the final weeks leading up to the May 4 primary, Jennifer Brunner returned to her hometown to meet with supporters and let voters know about her campaign.
Brunner, a South Charleston native, is facing Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher in a race to become the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in the fall. The winner will take on Rob Portman, the Republican candidate, in the fall. The seat became open with the retirement of George Voinovich.
Along with a campaign stop in downtown Springfield, Brunner also met with voters at Shoemaker Garringer Market and the Polar Bar in South Charleston.
Brunner said a grassroots campaign would be the most effective way to raise awareness about her candidacy and to win the Democratic nomination next month.
“We believe that a grassroots campaign is really the best way to meet the voters,” she said.
Source: Springfield News Sun
The Hot Seat: Can a heated race for Senate stay civil till Election Day?
by on 04.20.2010
One Cleveland-area Democratic leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, says Fisher's supporters have threatened to make "pariahs" out of those who openly support Brunner with money.
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Catherine Turcer, director of Money in Politics, a Columbus-based nonprofit that studies how dollars affect campaigns and policy, says tactics to shut down opponents' funding happen more often than not — especially when one candidate goes against the party grain. In Brunner's case, some of the party maneuvering could be interpreted as sexism against a stubborn, powerful female, says Turcer.
"She's a woman, and she hasn't been a good little soldier."
Source: Cleveland Scene
Brunner has sights set on Senate seat
by on 04.17.2010
As an undergraduate student at Miami University, a professor told Jennifer Brunner that she’d be good at politics.
Brunner, then Jennifer Junk, mused that someday she’d like a seat in the U.S. Senate. The professor responded, “Well, I didn’t mean that.”
Fast-forward 30-plus years, and people are still telling Brunner that she is good in politics but that she should set her sights somewhere other than the U.S. Senate.
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If elected to the U.S. Senate, Brunner said she would like to serve on the judiciary committee, where she would work on criminal justice reform issues, such as putting more money into community corrections programs that work rather than warehousing so many non-violent offenders in costly prisons.
She noted that she'd also serve any committees dealing with labor, agriculture, banking and economic development.
Source: Dayton Daily News
Jennifer Brunner gaining momentum for U.S. Senate
by on 04.16.2010
After the DCCC turned its back on Secretary of the State Jennifer Brunner despite her high polling numbers, Brunner is now showing how running an extremely strong grassroots campaign can change the winds of a race.
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Finally, Ohio voters and the nation are seeing what we knew from the beginning: That Jennifer Brunner is a force to be reckoned with. She’s an established leader, incredible progressive, and very much needed in the Senate.
There’s less than 3 weeks left until the May 4th primary and over 40% of Ohio voters claiming to be undecided. What will bring a candidate to victory—throwing money at the voters, or driving around on a bus and speaking with them face to face?
Source: Women's Campaign Forum
Jennifer Brunner gets standing ovation in Shaker Heights, Lee Fisher’s base
by on 04.15.2010
I went to an event in Shaker Heights last night, organized among eastern suburban Democratic clubs, which featured Jennifer Brunner. . . . The room was full, largely women, specifically the kind of women who are active in eastern Cuyahoga County. The kind of women who would once fill a room in Shaker Hts. for Lee Fisher.
At the end of the Q&A, Brunner got a standing ovation. In Lee Fisher’s home suburb. Where Lee has been running for office for 30 years. Did I mention this was held in Shaker Heights?
Source: Read more
Brunner Blasts Fisher for Negative Tone
by on 04.15.2010
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Brunner brought her Senate campaign, and her newly christened campaign bus, “The Courage Express,” to the Mahoning Valley yesterday. The bus is a refitted school bus that her campaign recently bought on eBay for $2,050.
Brunner started her day with a non-campaign speech at a commencement ceremony for graduates of the Mahoning County Drug Court before visiting Aesir Metals at the Castlo Industrial Park in Struthers. From there, she went to V&M Star in Trumbull County.
Brunner said momentum for her campaign is strong, but lamented that Fisher “has decided to go rather negative,” recently taking a directive she had issued in her role as secretary of state and using “Republican talking points to call it something it really isn’t.” The directive in question involved requirements for voters who chose to switch parties.
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s expected because we know his reputation from other campaigns,” she said.
Brunner also acknowledged she got “a little fed up” with Fisher when he kept referring to her by her first name during the candidates’ debate Tuesday at the City Club in Cleveland. “I was elected in my own right and he was elected as part of a team with the governor,” she remarked. “If we can’t show respect to each other, how do we expect the public to respect the government?”
The campaign bus has gotten good response on campaign stops, Brunner said. “Think about the memories people have of school buses,” she said. “Plus, it’s a little homespun. People like that personal touch.”
The bus has a couple of personal connections for Brunner. It was manufactured by American Harvester, where her father used to work, and her father-in-law was a bus driver. Her campaign had investigated renting a bus, which she said would have cost in excess of $8,000.
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Source: Business Journal Daily
Rethinking the Ohio Dem Primary
by on 04.15.2010
. . . Dems in OH and DC have begun to whisper that Brunner may just pull out a come-from-behind primary victory. It's a long-shot, they say, but even those who have worked against her behind the scenes say it's possible.
An OH-connected Dem who is officially neutral but loosely affiliated with the Fisher team said, "It's an open race. I wouldn't be surprised if either of them pulls it out."
Political observers in OH say in what many expect will be a low turnout primary, Brunner could be better positioned due to her connection with the base.
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Brunner, Local Mayors Talk Jobs at V&M
by on 04.15.2010
A U.S. Senate hopeful made several campaign stops in the area Wednesday, including one at V&M Star, one of the few local businesses in the Mahoning Valley in the process of a major expansion.
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, stopped at the plant to spend a few minutes speaking to Girard Mayor Jim Melfi and Niles Mayor Ralph Infante.
"We've lost a lot over a decade, and we are tired of cutting back," Melfi said. "We want to give people the services they deserve."
The mayors said they want federal elected officials to get more dollars to this area and help get more people working.
While V&M Star is one of the more positive business stories to happen in the area, in recent years there have been plenty of negative ones, like in Niles, where their major employer just pulled out.
"We just lost G.E., and we now have a big building we need to get filled," said Infante.
Brunner said the Mahoning Valley is an area she won't forget if she is elected and that she will do what she can to help the area grow.
Brunner also made stops in Youngstown and at the Girard Multigenerational Center.
Source: WYTV-33 (Youngstown)