I Support Marilyn Brown for Ohio Secretary of State

I have not been able to pin down whether or not Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason is going to take the plunge and run for Secretary of State. Some people say yes, some say no. It really doesn't matter to me, because Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown has my support no matter what.

I have known Marilyn Brown and her husband Eric for six years, dating back to Howard Dean meetups at the now-closed Scottie MacBean's Cafe in Columbus' Clintonville neighborhood. In 2004, Eric Brown was elected to a seat on the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. In 2006, Marilyn Brown took on the challenge of unseating the last GOPer on the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, defeating three term incumbent Dewey Stokes by 5 points. During that time, I vividly remember her husband attending campaign events with a nametag that identified himself not as "Judge Eric Brown" but as "Mr. Marilyn Brown"

 Since then, Marilyn has helped the County maintain its best possible AAA bond rating, a testament to the county's sound financial management practices. She helped oversee the construction of the new Huntington Park baseball stadium, which was on time, on budget, and built without a dime of taxpayer money. All the while, Marilyn and the rest of the Board took fire from the Dispatch (R-Columbus) for sticking to labor practice policies that were pro-labor, but that the paper conveniently forgot were enacted by her GOP predecessors. In 2008, she was elected President of the Board of Commissioners. Also in 2008, Marilyn's husband Eric was elected to become the first ever Democrat on the Franklin County Probate Court.

So, the Browns have a collective 3-for-3 track record in elections in Franklin County. Marilyn is now taking on the challenge of holding the Secretary of State seat for the Democratic Party. While it won't be easy to defeat "Slick Jonny" Husted, Marilyn will have my full support in her campaign. Go get 'em Marilyn!

Here's (Slick) Jonny!

State Sen. Jon "Slick Jonny" Husted is expected to announce his candidacy for Secretary of State tomorrow at a 10 AM press conference at Ohio GOP headquarters tomorrow. Hilarous that this story hit the street on April Fools' Day.

BREAKING: Marilyn Brown Will Announce for SOS This Afternoon

I have just received an anonymous tip that Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown will announce her candidacy for Secretary of State this afternoon.

Is Paula Brooks Our SOS Candidate? If So, I'm Happy

So over at BSB David says that Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks may be the woman Jennifer Brunner is recruiting to replace her as Secretary of State. If this report is correct, it would make me feel much better about Brunner running for the U.S. Senate.

Paula Brooks was elected County Commissioner in 2004 after 8 years of serving on Upper Arlington City Council. That's right, Brooks was a Democrat on the city council of Columbus' iconic old-money, pretentious, tradtionally GOP subrub. Translation: she knows how to get GOP votes.

Her term on the Franklin County Board of Commissioners saw Democrats complete a take over of the board. Franklin County remains one of only a handful of Ohio governments to retain a AAA bond rating - the highest possible - which speaks to the counties' financial management under not only Brooks' leadership, but also under the leadership of now Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy.

In 2004, when I was just starting as a Democratic activist, Brooks gave me a view into how she approaches campaiging for office. "You have to earn each and every vote" I remember her telling me... and I can't think of a more perfect motto for a SOS candidate who will be protecting those votes once in office.