Dems hear Secretary of State

Secretary Brunner spoke on the need for changes to be made in the way that the federal government approaches solutions to health care, the national economy and job creation. In her position as Secretary of State, she said she has stressed the importance of making sure that all Ohio voters get to vote in a systematic and fair manner. She says her first objectives are always to "follow the law and to take care of the people." She has made her election decisions based on the answer to this question -- how will this actually affect the voters?

In order to obtain first-hand working knowledge about how voting is conducted throughout Ohio, she has visited election boards in many counties -- even looking at how voting machines are stored. These local visits have helped her to formulate policy to improve voting practices.

In other work Brunner has implemented a program called "Better Lives, Better Ohio." This project gathers information from many different sources with a primary objective of bringing new jobs to Ohio. Employers can use this database to acquire statistical information in many different categories and can even determine quality of life in various communities. The project was created "in-house" using IT specialists within her own department. The information is posted on the Secretary of State's website.

In regard to her race for United States Senate, Jennifer Brunner commented that fixing the problems that face us as a nation will take courage. She said that she believes that leaders should listen to others and gather ideas from various sources by bringing many different stakeholders "to the table" for discussion. Then, she said, it's important just to do what is right and to involve the stakeholders in implementing the decisions. She says she wants to serve because, "I believe that one senator can make a real difference."

She also said, "On core values, on principles, I won't back down." And she said she wouldn't be spending all of her time in Washington. She promised to be in Ohio frequently to take care of the needs of Ohio's people.

About 150 people attended the annual dinner, held at St. John's Lutheran Church, Port Clinton. The event was chaired by Monette Garn, assisted by Dan Laity, chairman of the Ottawa County Democratic Party. Kathleen L. Geisler, Judge of the Probate and Juvenile Divisions of the Common Pleas Court, served as master of ceremonies.

A moment of silence was observed in memory of Mel Guth, former Ottawa County Auditor. Ottawa County Recorder Virginia M. Park gave the invocation and handled post-event publicity. Pre-event publicity was chaired by Jennifer Wilkins, clerk of courts.

Commissioner Jim Sass and Treasurer Bobby Hille took care of awarding prizes, assisted by County Engineer Dave Brunkhorst. Auditor JoEllen Regal was in charge of advance ticket sales and registrations. Also attending the event were State Representative Dennis Murray, Common Pleas Court Judge Bruce Winters, Prosecuting Attorney Mark Mulligan, Court Magistrate Lorraine Croy, and Judge Mark Pietrykowski of the Court of Appeals. Colleen Byers, field representative in Northwest Ohio for the Ohio Democratic Party, was also present.

Sheriff Bob Bratton assisted with advance planning for the prizes. Laurie Thomas, JoAn and Ron Monnett, Jim Sass, Darrell Opfer, Dan Laity and Roger Garn assisted with post-event activities.

Cub Scout Pack 361 of Port Clinton formed an honor guard to place the flag and lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Students from Port Clinton High School and from Oak Harbor High School also attended.