COLUMBUS: Two former campaign aides to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner have landed jobs in her state office.
Brunner's office says the employees are no longer involved in the Senate campaign.
Catherine Turcer of the watchdog group Ohio Citizen Action says the hirings raise a red flag of possible favoritism. The Columbus Dispatch reported Wednesday that the women were hired without competition to unclassified positions.
Political director Jayme Staley was hired as a community outreach coordinator at the secretary of state's office in May. Press secretary Pia (PEA-uh) Brady began work in August for the federally funded Voting Rights Institute run out of Brunner's office.
Brunner, who was elected secretary of state in 2006, is making a bid for the U.S. Senate by challenging Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, her opponent in the Democratic primary in May.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
