 He served as sheriff from 1935 until his resignation in 1936 and was president of the Board of Aldermen of New York City from January 1 to December 31, 1937.Brunner resumed the insurance and real-estate business and was Queens County commissioner of borough works from July 1 to December 31, 1941.He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination in 1942 and for election on the American Labor Party ticket to the Seventy-eighth Congress.