Jennifer Brunner
Ohio Supremes: Slots Issue Should Go To Ballot
In a stunning setback for Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's proposed VLT (video lottery terminal) plan, the Ohio Supreme Court today voted 6-1 that any plan to authorize slot machines at Ohio race tracks requires a statewide referendum (ruling available in full here).
The Governor, who had attempted to implement the plan via executive order, had argued that the slot machine gambling fell within the jurisdiction of the Ohio Lottery. The conservative-backed LetOhioVote.org, however, successfully argued that the Governor and Legislature overstepped their authority in authorizing the plan.
Prior to today's ruling, the Governor had planned to have slots up and running by May, and the Legislature was relying on revenue from the machines to help balance the state's tottering budget by producing a projected $933 million in licensing fees and gambling revenues.
Today's ruling delays possible implementation of the slots plan until a referendum has been had, and orders Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to accept and process petitions on the matter forthwith. LetOhioVote.org now must gather signatures to repeal the slots referendum (which appears automatically via provisions in the state constitution).
Elected women outperform elected men, Study says
Anything an elected man can do, an elected woman can do better, so says a recent study by researchers at Stanford University and the University of Chicago.
According to the Politico article about the study that found women outperform men:
. . .on average, women in Congress introduce more bills, attract more co-sponsors and bring home more money for their districts than their male counterparts do.
The study, which examined the performance of House members between 1984 and 2004, found that women delivered roughly 9 percent more discretionary spending for their districts than men.
Despite this, women still are the vast minority of elected representatives in Congress and state and local level office.
Politico's Erika Lovely wrote
Ohio Supreme Court Requires Husted Ruling in 7 Days; Brunner Responds
In the ongoing case questioning whether or not "Slick" Jonny Husted in facts lives in his elected district, the Ohio Supreme Court weighed in this afternoon by unanimously ordering Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to issue an opinion within a week.
Husted filed suit with the Ohio Supreme Court last month after what he termed an "extended delay" on Brunner's part in breaking a party-line tie vote in the Montgomery County Elections Board on the question Husted's residency.
Brunner's response to the ruling was expectedly a little annoyed, but subdued:
At a point in time when I was very near to issuing a decision in the tie vote matter, state Sen. Jon Husted decided to file suit in the Supreme Court of Ohio to affect its outcome.
I will proceed expeditiously to issue a fair decision that can best follow and harmonize the various laws that affect his right to vote under his residency situation. His case is unusual and not specifically addressed in earlier case precedent.
While I would have been pleased to have the high court’s guidance on how best to apply the three residence law provisions in his particular situation, I understand that Sen. Husted acted prematurely in asking the court to interpret these provisions.
Lee Fisher Follows Jennifer Brunner to Huffington Post
As many of you know, Jennifer Brunner has been availing herself of opportunities to expose herself and her ideas to a national audience via some of the biggest national progressive blogs since the beginning of the summer. She's held chats at Firedoglake, posted at DailyKos and written three thoughtful essays for Huffington Post on marriage equality, health-care reform and the importance of the public option, and the politics of empowerment.
Today, her opponent in the Democratic Senate primary race, Lee Fisher, posted his first essay at Huffington Post on the foreclosure crisis and the importance of cram-down legislation. He has a link to a petition on his website you can sign.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-fisher/why-cram-down-must-pass_b_28185...
It's not hard to argue that such a crisis exists, not only here in Northeast Ohio but in many places, and cram-down legislation (allowing judges in bankruptcy cases to adjust mortgage principals to the actual value of the home) is a sensible step to take in easing it.
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Here in the Buckeye State we are gearing up (already) for the 2010 elections. So far we have a contested U.S Senate primary between one fully LGBT supportive candidate, Jennifer Brunner and one who “is open to the idea” - Lee Fisher. Now, we are beginning to see a primary fight between Marilyn Brown and Jennifer Garrison for Secretary of State. It’s not often that I brand a Democrat a bigot, but sometimes it is needed.
Let me first define what I mean by bigot in this instance. I label anyone who isn’t for full marriage equality a bigot. I think that any straight married person that isn’t for full marriage equality is an even bigger bigot, in that they hold the special distinction of being in the “I got mine” category. I realize that under this definition both Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama are bigots. So be it.
So, in this Secretary of State contest we have two women. Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown and State Representative Jennifer Garrison.
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