COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Ohio's Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is the state's top election official. But she seems to be violating a cardinal rule by blatantly mixing official business with her electioneering literature. Check out this clearly labeled campaign material on her official state portal. Some Republicans have spotted the screw up and are beginning to quietly pass word around today it is evidence Brunner is a bit holier than thou as a politician.
[UPDATE: Some additional Brunner campaign material on the state portal turns up HERE.]
[UPDATE 1: To get to the campaign pdfs click HERE and scan down the page to the four initiatives listed in The Brunner Plan.]
The gist of it: If you are throwing stones, don't live in a glass house. No doubt some tech-savvy GOPers are snapshotting the pages right now.
Brunner, indeed, is trying to clean house at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, where she says the four board members, including Ohio GOP Chairman Bob Bennett, have tolerated incompetence and sloppy performance for years. Two Democratic board members have resigned, but the two Republicans have so far dug in. Bennett, in particular, has said he'll fight Brunner's efforts to remove him from the Cleveland post.
Now some questionable activities by Brunner's office have surfaced. She has taken material from her 2006 campaign and put it online without even an edit job. The headline clearly urges people to vote for Jennifer Brunner for Secretary of State and the piece was prepared by the Jennifer Brunner Committee and gives its phone number, 614-255-4254. It appears on the state's portal under "The Brunner Plan" on her official Web site.
The Brunner plan doesn't seem to have much to do with elections, but promised to convene a collaborative "of business, non-profit, labor, government and university leaders to define a continuum fore measuring wage earner and family well-being: What is a community in crisis? What is a stable community? What is a thriving community?"
My instinct says it's an honest mistake and it should be removed or re-drafted to reflect whatever elements pertain to her current job as SOS, to the extent that the materials do reflect elements of her current job.
ReplyDeleteGiven the difficulties Ken Blackwell caused just in getting up and running? I have a hard time being persnickety about this just yet. If it were September, I might feel differently.
It's reasonable to say, look what I found and urge that it be updated accordingly. It's unreasonable to suggest at this point - without talking to single soul - that it besmirches her reputation.