Jennifer Brunner - Career - Private Practice

Private Practice

She then began a statewide law practice where she gained 12 years experience focusing on election law and campaign finance from 1988–2000. She briefly worked for the Franklin County Board of Elections. In 1988, Brunner represented the Ohio Pesticide Applicators for Responsible Regulation, when the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency held hearings about testing Ohio water supplies for pesticides that were not against federal regulations. She agreed that testing standards should be higher, but felt that such standards should not be mandated. She expressed an interest in public service when a seat on the Columbus City Council became available following the April 29, 1988 death of John R. Maloney. The list of candidates who applied included at least 20 applicants.

Brunner has litigated various ballot propositions. In 1988, she represented a client who contested the validity of a ballot proposal to halt the sale of alcohol at the Cuyahoga Falls entertainment center. She was treasurer of a citizens group that attacked the financial reports related to a Westerville, Ohio school district tax levy on the November 1988 ballot. Later in 1989, she represented property owners in a rezoning referendum. Brunner represented Ohioans Against Casino Gambling in its dispute over the wording of the 1990 ballot issue on "games of chances".

Brunner's private practice was not exclusively about ballot issues. She served as treasurer of Choice '90, a political action committee that ran television commercials about the abortion positions of 1990 Ohio's gubernatorial candidates (Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. (D) and George Voinovich (R)) but that was funded primarily by the Ohio Democratic Party. Brunner represented Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Eugene Branstool in battles with the Ohio Republican Robert Bennett and Canton, Ohio industrialist William R. Timken over the state redistricting following the 1990 Census. Brunner successfully brought a claim by Ohio House of Representatives Seventh District representative Rocco J. Colonna against Brook Park Mayor Thomas Coyne in 1991 for circulating campaign literature containing false statements.

Brunner was also involved in a drawn out case involving the rights of Hamilton County bars to serve alcohol in glass containers. The bars she represented were effectively put out of business by neighborhood residents' passage of an ordinance. Brunner challenged petition signatures on a similar matter in Franklin County. However, the case in Franklin County was dismissed. The Hamilton County plaintiffs were granted a stay preventing the Ohio Liquor Control Commission from receiving the certified May 7 results. This stay allowed their case to be heard. Meanwhile Brunner won another related case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The case overturned a state law allowing liquor licenses to be revoked by popular referendum. This ruling bolstered the case of the other four bars she represented. In 1992, Franklin County Democratic Party chairwoman Fran Ryan approached Brunner about becoming a judge, but Brunner declined.

Brunner successfully defended Ohio House of Representatives member C.J. Prentiss when her position on the ballot was challenged in the May 1994 primary. In 1998, she successfully represented House Rep. Charleta Tavares when her petition signatures were challenged during her candidacy to replace J. Kenneth Blackwell as Ohio Secretary of State.

In 1994, she represented the Delaware County Amphitheater Action Committee, a group that attempted to block the state Liquor Department from issuing a beer permit. When their case was dismissed, they appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court. At the same time, she represented vendors whose liquor licenses were about to be cancelled following a vote where poll workers allegedly acted with bias. Brunner got her clients a September 1994 ruling that the poll workers had, in fact, attempted to influence voters. That same month, she was unable to get a pair of liquor option questions removed from the November 1994 ballot.

In 1994, Brunner also represented neighbors of an adult video store that was being razed to make way for a McDonald's store in an affluent neighborhood. She obtained a 14-day restraining order to halt issuance of a zoning certificate and demolition and building permits. The Bexley, OH neighborhood hosts the Ohio Governor's Mansion and mansions once owned by Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and The Limited chairman Les Wexner. She got citizens to appear before the zoning appeals board to attempt to stop the construction. The Citizens were unsuccessful in convincing the Board of Zoning Appeals to change their earlier decisions. After the citizens were unsuccessful with the zoning board, they pursued remedy in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court. In addition to the court proceedings, the citizens sought the attention of the City Council in attempt to preserve the neighborhood by keeping the video store from being converted into a McDonald's. On April 7, 1995, Brunner gained a verdict for her clients that in the interest of avoiding traffic congestion and pedestrian dangers, the McDonald's would not be allowed to build. The developer attempted to appeal the decision by obtaining friend-of-the-court briefs from surrounding municipalities. The Franklin County Appeals Court overturned the lower court ruling making way for the construction of the McDonald's. Brunner's clients appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. A few other cases against the developers remained in some lower courts. However, these were unsuccessful. After the lower court zoning victory, in May 1995, she was hired to oppose a 259-acre (1,050,000 m2) project.

In 1995, Brunner again applied for a vacant seat on the Columbus City Council. That year, Brunner represented the AFL-CIO in their battle against proposed rule changes related to new Ohio campaign finance laws. Also, in 1995, she was hired to handle several elections law cases. She successfully represented Franklin County Democratic Party Chairman Dennis White in a 1996 case about whether his primary campaign mailings violated Ohio election laws. She also was involved in a residency challenge in 1996. She represented a Seneca County constituent of then State Representative (current State Senator) Karen Gillmor who felt the Franklin County home where Gillmor's family resides is her true residence. The challenge failed.

Brunner was involved in a hanging chad controversy when in a 14,696-ballot November 4, 1997 election in Licking County an income tax issue which had failed by four votes subsequently passed by thirteen on a November 26 automatic recount. Brunner was present for a court-ordered second January 6 recount to evaluate whether chads remained hanging by one, two, or three hinges or whether they were sufficiently indented to count.

Brunner represented the Save The Doves Committee, an animal rights group that attempted to ban the hunting of mourning doves in Ohio via a ballot initiative. The group had previously attempted to petition the state to have the doves removed from the state game list. Ohio had formerly had a history of protecting mourning doves dating back to 1917, but hunting them was legalized starting in 1995. The doves had an Ohio population of 5 million and were legal prey in 38 states. A pro hunting wildlife group, unsuccessfully challenged the committee's petitions. The actual wording of the ballot issue, which became "No person shall take or hunt a mourning dove," was contentious. Some found the issue wording confusing because a "Yes" vote meant support for "No hunting". Television ads opposing the ballot issue also were hotly contested. This issue was the only statewide issue on the 1998 ballot. The ban proposal failed.

Brunner represented pro-gambling interests in an off-track betting ballot issue in Stark County. After the Canton City Council allowed a new betting parlor, the Stark County Board of Elections deadlocked along party lines on whether to allow a county-wide referendum against off-track betting. Republican Secretary of State Taft, broke the tie allowing the referendum on September 14. Brunner appealed the Board's decision to allow the voters the chance to overrule the city council.

In 1998, she represented the Ohio Democratic Party when they challenged 1998 Ohio gubernatorial election candidate Bob Taft's ad campaign. On various occasions, during the race she obtained probable cause determinations by the Ohio Elections Commission that there were improprieties in Taft's television commercials. While the dispute was being resolved, one of Taft's ads was ordered to be pulled off the air via a restraining order on October 10. The restraining order was lifted three days later. On October 16, the Ohio Elections Commission rebuked Taft for lying in his commercials. After the ruling, the candidates continued to contest other campaign ads for a few days. Then they signed a code of ethics. During the same election period, she represented Mark L. Mallory in a similar ad campaign battle when he unseated State Senator Janet Howard. In another campaign advertising case, she represented Richard Cordray who charged his opponent, Betty Montgomery with money laundering of campaign advertising funds. Brunner felt Montgomery should have been disqualified in the election.

Brunner also represented a pair of judge candidates who were charged with misconduct during the 1998 elections. She was able to get charges dismissed against Judge Deborah P. O'Neill of Franklin County Common Pleas Court. However, a disciplinary panel of the Ohio Supreme Court recommended Stark County Common Pleas judge candidate Elizabeth Burick to pay a $5,000 fine for actions that "demeans the judiciary".

In 1999, she represented a pair of individuals whose published election-related literature was challenged. She represented Northland Mall owner in his attempts to block funding for roads to the planned Polaris Fashion Place mall. Her client was able to get a ballot issue placed to oppose the special financing. Television ad regarding this issue were hotly contested. The voters failed the proposal before the Franklin County prosecutors decided whether to take actions following the Ohio Election Commission's determination that the ads were false.

In one of her final cases in private practice, Brunner returned to represent interested parties in Bexley. Although she was campaigning for her own November 2000 election at the time, she represented a restaurant at risk of losing its Sunday liquor license. After several years of representing controversial parties in elections issues, Brunner, a principal of Brunner, Kirby & Jeffries Co., ran a non-controversial campaign. Brunner, who was making her first run for elective office, opposed incumbent John F. Bender who had been appointed by Governor Taft in April 2000 to replace the retiring James J. O'Grady. The race was the only contested race in the general division of Franklin County Common Pleas Court. During the campaign, Bender outpaced Brunner in fundraising by a $76,613 to $58,145 margin.