Running Solo

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Hon. Edward R. Brunner

“It’s not going to just be a change of jobs, it will be a change of lifestyle,” said Judge Edward R. Brunner of his likely election to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals Third District.

Brunner, who has been a Barron County Circuit Court Judge for the last 19 years, was the only candidate to file nomination papers by the Jan. 2 deadline for the position. Barring a last-minute write-in campaign, he will succeed Judge R. Thomas Cane who elected not to seek another term.

The opportunity was well-timed for Brunner, 58, who had contemplated a change for several years.

“I had considered it for a few years and when opportunities present themselves, as they occasionally do and with retirement pending, I felt I had to take this one,” said Brunner. “If I had let this chance pass, I really don’t feel another one would have come along during the remainder of my career.”

In 2003, Brunner came close to claiming a seat on the state Supreme Court, but lost a close election to current Justice Patience D. Roggensack. Brunner received 49 percent of the vote and Roggensack garnered 51 percent.

Four years later, the pending retirement of Justice Jon. P. Wilcox leaves another vacancy on the Supreme Court, but Brunner concedes that he is four years older.

“I made the decision a year or two ago that I would not run for the Supreme Court again,” said Brunner. “I made the decision after discussions with my family and considerations concerning geography and retirement. When I ran, that was my window of opportunity. I took the chance then; it didn’t happen and I may have had a shot this year, but I’m happy with the choice I made.”

Service on the court of appeals is expected to offer enough stimulation for Brunner, who admitted that the atmosphere will be a sharp contrast to his time in Barron County.

“It’s going to be a totally different job than the day-to-day work from the bench,” said Brunner. “This will be much more academic, reading and reviewing and writing decisions with the other two judges in the district. It’s a major change. I have the lawyers and citizens coming before me each day in circuit court. I will miss that and also will miss working with all the wonderful court staff and related agencies. However, I’m looking forward to the new challenges.”

Brunner admitted that there were both benefits and drawbacks of leaving a community he has worked in for nearly two decades and lived in for three.

“It wasn’t difficult to decide to change judicial focus, because that is something I had been looking to do for some time,” said Brunner, who plans to move from Rice Lake to Bayfield County and commute to Wausau. “The tough part was leaving a community I had served in for 19 years and lived in for almost 30. Working with and serving the people, and improving our judicial system in Barron County was important.”

After nearly two decades on the trial bench, Brunner will take a wealth of experience with him including a term as chief judge of the 10th District.

“I believe I can utilize things I’ve learned in 19 years as a circuit court judge, in court administration and as a chief judge, and apply that experience to the appellate court,” said Brunner. “I bring as much trial court experience as any judge, but I guess that also, by default, includes me in the oldest third of the state’s judges.”

His efforts have not gone unnoticed; Brunner was the winner of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Lifetime Jurist Achievement Award in 2005 and recipient of the 2006 William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, awarded by the National Center for State Courts.

An added incentive to the job will be the ability to work with Judges Michael W. Hoover and Gregory A. Peterson. Brunner began his judicial career with Hoover in 1988 and succeeded Peterson as chief judge of the 10th District in 1999.

“It will be a benefit working with two people who I respect as friends and as professional colleagues,” said Brunner.

With nomination papers filed and bags partially packed, the only hurdle is the election itself. Brunner modestly confessed his mild surprise that he was ultimately the lone candidate.

He had researched potential competition last April and found near
unanimous support for his candidacy among the local legal community.

“I talked with other judges, who were considering running, and they graciously said they wouldn’t,” said Brunner. “Certainly, it wasn’t a guarantee that nobody else would choose to run, just look at this year’s Supreme Court race, but I certainly favored it. Now I just need people to actually vote for me.”