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Jennifer Brunner easily the best candidate for Ohio secretary of state
The Morning Journal (Lorain)
October 19, 2006
The most visible task of Ohio's secretary of state is to preside over the election process. That means when Ohioans go to the polls on Nov. 7 to elect a new secretary of state, they will want someone with election expertise and a good track record. The choice is easy. Democratic candidate Jennifer Brunner alone has the credentials to match the job. Brunner, 49, of Columbus, served as a deputy director of the Ohio Secretary of State's office after Sherrod Brown was elected to that post in the 1980s. Brown was among the first to endorse Brunner in her 2006 campaign. Brunner also has served as a member of the Franklin County Board of Elections, one of the 88 bipartisan county boards that are in charge of operating polling places. With her husband, Rick, she built a large election law firm that helps candidates and organizations at all election levels across Ohio meet the details of Ohio's complex election laws. Brunner also served well for more than five years as a common pleas judge in Franklin County before resigning to run for secretary of state. Her Republican rival, Greg Hartmann, 38, of Cincinnati is the Hamilton County clerk of courts. Hartmann touts his management experience in the private sector as well as running a large county office, but none of his experience is in election oversight. The new secretary of state will be in charge of the 2008 presidential election when Ohio once again is expected to be a key battleground, as it was in the much-criticized (mostly unfairly) 2004 Ohio presidential voting. That election was overseen by Republican Ken Blackwell, who simultaneously headed the successful Bush campaign in Ohio. Blackwell is now running for governor. Brunner and Hartmann have both put forth sensible ideas for improving and building public confidence in the elections process. Unfortunately, this campaign also has been riddled with negative sniping and partisan accusations that so far have amounted only to political background noise. Ignore the noise. Pay attention to the fact that of the two candidates, Brunner is best-prepared by her experience and her years as an election law attorney. We strongly recommend that voters elect Jennifer Brunner as the next Ohio secretary of state on Nov. 7.
