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The Akron-Beacon Journal Endorses Jennifer!
For Ohio secretary of state we recommend the election of Jennifer Brunner
The Akron Beacon Journal
October 08, 2006
If Ken Blackwell has accomplished anything as secretary of state, he has raised the profile of the office. And he has had help in doing so, Ohio becoming a primary focus of the most recent presidential election, a test case, in part, of how well the country responded to the debacle in Florida four years earlier. In 2008, the many eyes will fix again on the state, making all the more important the selection of the state's top elections officer. Both candidates, Jennifer Brunner, a Columbus Democrat, and Greg Hartmann, a Cincinnati Republican, have pledged to cut a lower partisan profile than Blackwell. That is a good thing, although it bears repeating that local boards of elections have the larger share of responsibility for conducting elections, and they operate in a bipartisan manner. Of the two contenders, Brunner, 49, is the much more impressive candidate. She served very capably as a judge on the Franklin County Common Pleas Court for five years before launching her campaign. As a private attorney, she specialized in election law for more than a decade, representing candidates and a variety of organizations. She even spent time in the secretary of state's office in the 1980s, serving as deputy director and legislative counsel to Sherrod Brown. In other words, Brunner has fitting knowledge and experience for the position. Republican critics warn that Brunner will prove too partisan. The truth is, Ohioans must elect a candidate from one party or the other. As a judge, Brunner showed independence, rejecting a challenge to state Issue 1 (the gay-marriage amendment), keeping the proposal on the ballot. Better to go with the candidate well-versed in the office and armed with a record of making tough choices. We recommend the election of Jennifer Brunner on Nov. 7. Greg Hartmann, 39, touts a 20-point plan for the secretary of state's office, its direction and spirit departing little from the Brunner agenda promising an improved election process, better information for voters, even a program to curb identity theft. He points to his time in the private sector managing an airline services distribution company and his tenure as an assistant prosecutor in Hamilton County. The past three years, Hartmann has been the Hamilton County clerk of courts. All of that doesn't come close to matching the preparation of his opponent. Jennifer Brunner is the better choice for such a critical and now very prominent office.
