Candidate for
Secretary of State; State of Ohio; Democratic Party

Jennifer Brunner served as a Judge of the Franklin County Common Pleas Court for more than four years. She was elected to an unexpired term in 2000, edging out a governor's appointee, and was reelected to a 6-year term in 2002. Brunner resigned on September 1, 2005, in order to run for Ohio Secretary of State.

Working with leaders in the criminal justice and treatment communities of Columbus, Brunner formed and presided over Franklin County's first adult felony drug court. The drug court is a specialized docket that Brunner operated in addition to her regular docket that promotes accountability by offenders to maintain drug and crime-free lives. Franklin County's drug court is used by the Supreme Court of Ohio as a model for other county courts that want to start drug and mental health courts.

While a judge, Jennifer Brunner adopted the practice of permitting jurors in criminal and civil trials to take notes and ask questions, a practice aimed at improving trial outcomes and juror satisfaction. The procedures she used and developed were appealed in the case of State v. Fisher, a case tried in Brunner's court in 2001. The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the practice and the procedures used by Jennifer Brunner. The high court thereafter operated a pilot project allowing questioning by jurors and has adopted rules for questioning by jurors in trial courts throughout the state.

Jennifer Brunner's interest in public service dates back to her days as a committee secretary and legislative aide in the Ohio Senate, as Legislative Counsel for former Secretary of State Sherrod Brown, now a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-13, Ohio), and as members of the Franklin County Board of Elections and the Ohio Student Loan Commission.

After serving in Secretary of State Sherrod Brown's first administration as a deputy director and legislative counsel to the Ohio legislature, Jennifer Brunner developed a statewide law practice in election law. Working with her husband, she grew a law firm from two people to thirty people, and in her work assisted local, statewide and presidential candidates, legislative caucuses, labor unions, businesses, associations and other organizations in complying with often-complicated election laws and in successfully accessing Ohio's election system. While a judge, Brunner served as a board member for the Ohio Community Corrections Organization, representing common pleas judges from throughout the state. She continues to serve as a board member for the Mental Health Association of Franklin County.

Jennifer and her husband, Rick, have three adult children and live in Columbus, Ohio.