Jennifer Brunner

secretary of state, Ohio

As Ohio's first woman to serve as secretary of state, Jennifer Brunner brings a unique perspective and exceptional credentials to be Ohio's top election official. Her prior service as Legislative Counsel for the Secretary of State's Office, 13 years of election law private practice experience, her years of service as a Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge, a past experience as a member of the Franklin County Board of Elections and work as a special prosecutor for election fraud clearly demonstrate her ability to be an effective and fair Secretary of State. Jennifer Brunner has pledged elections for Ohio that are free, fair, open and honest. She has made it a top goal to ensure confidence in Ohio's elections. Among her stated four goals for office are to ensure business filings that are quick, efficient and easy to retrieve, to protect social security numbers from disclosure and create and to maintain a life quality index to better the lives of all Ohioans. Brunner received a B.A. in sociology-gerontology, cum laude, from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio and later a J.D. from Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio with honors. She and her husband, Rick, also an attorney, have three adult children and live in Columbus. In 2008, Brunner was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, the nation's most prestigious honor for elected public servants.