For Immediate Release

$10,000 for a Single Letter

MAX MILLER TOP RECIPIENT OF CAMPAIGN $$$$ FROM BROWNS OWNERS; A “PAY TO PLAY “ LEADER IN SUPPORT OF BROWNS MOVE OUT OF CLEVELAND

“He’s Playing for the Wrong Team,” Says Kucinich, Who Wrote the “Modell Law.;”
Remember, Miller had George Santos Thrown Out of Congress, Calling him a Crook”

Cleveland, Weds. (Oct. 23)  - - The owners of the Cleveland Browns, the Haslam Family, have contributed over $22,000 in this current election cycle to Congressman Max Miller, including $10,000 to Miller on August 11, 2023.  Six days later, Miller wrote a glowing letter urging them to move the team out of Cleveland.  The total money given to Miller represents one of the largest contributions the Haslams have made to any member of the House of Representatives.

Miller’s  opponent in the November General Election in Ohio’s Seventh Congressional District, former US Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, exposed the connection between the Haslam money and Miller’s letter by revealing the record of campaign contributions, the timing and the letter which Miller himself published on Twitter.

“Max Miller received $10,000 for writing a single letter, on official congressional stationery, in support of moving the Browns.  This is clearly “Pay to Play,” a corruption of the political process, performing an official act after receiving a contribution and it is indefensible. The fact that the Haslams own Max Miller is an insult to every Browns fan and taxpayer,” said Kucinich.  “Remember Max Miller is the guy who called George Santos a crook and had him thrown out of Congress!” 

This isn’t the first time the Haslams have sought to use their money to block Kucinich’s return as a taxpayers’ defender.  In 2021, the Browns owners gave $44,000 to a federal Superpac which was organized to defeat Kucinich in the mayoral race.  

Federal rules allowed the Haslams to hide the contributions until after the mayor’s race.  The irony is that the Haslams capitalized on the “Modell Law,” which Kucinich authored, by purchasing the MLS Columbus Crew, whose move to Austin, Texas in 2018 was blocked when the Ohio Attorney General went to court armed with the “Modell Law.”  

“Except for the law I wrote, the Browns are free to move ANYWHERE.  This talk about moving to Brook Park could be the political equivalent of a Statue of Liberty football play, a fake out, to run somewhere else, and Max Miller is carrying the ball for the Haslams,” Kucinich warned.

“Jerry McGuire, in the movie by that name, said 'Show me the money.’  The Browns owners certainly have showed Congressman Miller the money. They bought his vote. But the Haslams have not yet showed where the money is coming from to build a suburban sports palace. It is not coming from the state.  It is not coming from Cuyahoga County.  It is not coming from any suburb.' 

“The Haslams certainly aren’t going to give $2.4 billion of their own money.  Until they provide  a genuine financial plan, their proposal is purely speculative and  lacks credibility, and, even more seriously, opens the door for them to move the Browns out of state,” Kucinich said. 

“My legislation stops them from moving out of Cleveland, which is why the fight to keep them in Cleveland is so critical.” Kucinich said.

“Miller has forfeited Team Cleveland’s game to the Haslams.  He’s playing for the wrong side and he is running the wrong way with the ball,” concluded Kucinich.

For further information contact: [email protected]

By Sabrina Eaton, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The author of a state law designed to block sports teams like the Cleveland Browns from leaving cities that subsidized them with tax dollars says he’ll ensure - one way or another - that it’s invoked to fight the franchise’s recently announced relocation to Brook Park.

During his days as an Ohio legislator, ex-Cleveland Mayor and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich authored a 1996 law that requires taxpayer-funded sports teams to give their cities six months notice before leaving town and give the city and its residents a chance to buy the team. It was inspired by former Browns owner Art Modell’s 1995 decision to move the Browns to Baltimore, where they became the Ravens.

Kucinich on Monday sent Cleveland Law Director Mark Griffin a “taxpayer demand” letter that urges him to notify current Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam that they must comply with the law and “begin discussions as to the role of the City of Cleveland in facilitating the purchase of the team, and to defend the rights of interested buyers who reside in the area.” It seeks a reply from Griffin within a week.

Cleveland.com has reached out to Griffin for comment on Kucinich’s letter. A statement from Haslam Sports Group Chief Operating Officer Dave Jenkins said the circumstances that resulted in the Modell Law’s creation “could not be more different” from the company’s current effort, which aims to “make a transformative investment in Greater Cleveland and the entire Northeast Ohio region.”

“Our dome stadium and ancillary development focus in Brook Park is the optimal

solution for our fans and the region not only because it will bring more large-scale events and economic activity but also because it will open up the lakefront for more impactful development,” Jenkins’ statement said. “The proposed Brook Park project will bring far more value to Cleveland than just the 10-12 events the current stadium attracts annually.”

The Haslams say they want to build a $2.4 billion domed stadium in Brook Park, but haven’t offered specifics on how it would be financed. The departure announcement came after failure to reach a deal with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb to renovate the city-owned lakefront stadium in downtown Cleveland where the Browns play.

If the Browns leave Cleveland, it will mark the second time in three decades that Cleveland’s home team has fled the city’s borders. After Cleveland went several years without a professional football team, the Browns resumed Cleveland operations in 1999 as an expansion team.

Asked last week about invoking the Modell law to stop the move, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said it would be up to the city council. But the council said on social media the same day that it expects Bibb to enforce the law on the city’s behalf.

Kucinich says that if Griffin doesn’t exercise the city’s rights under the law he authored - and that a city council ordinance passed in May authorizes Griffin to enforce - he plans to file a taxpayer lawsuit against the Haslams. He described the letter he sent Griffin as a necessary precursor to the lawsuit he’d file to force their compliance if the city doesn’t act.

“As a state senator, I wrote ORC 9.67, (which went into effect on June 20, 1996), to protect the large investment which Cleveland taxpayers made in professional sports teams and to

spare Cleveland or any other Ohio city another heartbreaking move of a team which is

part of the soul of the city,” Kucinich wrote Griffin. “ORC 9.67 remains in effect and you have the obligation to enforce it on behalf of the City of Cleveland. I file this taxpayer’s demand consistent with that spirit.”

Kucinich, who is currently running as an independent candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the congressional district that includes Brook Park, said in an interview that he’s not convinced the team’s move to Brook Park is financially viable.

Citing estimates that Cleveland taxpayers have given the Browns $350 million since 1998, he says enforcement of his law will protect Brook Park and every other city in Ohio by keeping team owners from playing off cities against one another.

He hypothesizes the Haslams could move the team to another part of the country, as Modell did, if its Brook Park plans fall through.

Now that the Haslams have provided the notice of their move, he says it’s important to immediately invoke the law he authored and seek a local buyer for the team to ensure they stay in the area, he says. Otherwise, he says they could “run out the clock” on the law and go somewhere else.

“Unless this law is enforced, the taxpayers are going to get hosed,” Kucinich told cleveland.com. “It will be enforced and I am making sure of it.”

Given the profitability of pro-football teams, Kucinich says he’s confident a group of investors would come forward to buy the Browns. Noting that the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin, owns the Packers football team, he said Cleveland could also buy its local team.

Kucinich said his law was invoked once before, when then-Attorney General Mike DeWine and the city of Columbus filed a 2018 lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to fight the Columbus Crew professional soccer team’s proposed move to Texas.

The team’s owners argued the law is unconstitutional and the lawsuit should be dismissed, but the judge said they didn’t prove their case.

That case eventually settled, with help from the Haslams. They stepped in with other investors to purchase the Crew, while the team’s previous owner established a new franchise in Texas.

Kucinich described his law as the only insurance that taxpayers and fans have of keeping the team in northern Ohio.

”Either we stand up for the taxpayers who have made an investment and for the fans who

have supported the Browns, heart and soul, or what are we about?” he said.

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For Immediate Release

$10,000 for a Single Letter

MAX MILLER TOP RECIPIENT OF CAMPAIGN $$$$ FROM BROWNS OWNERS; A “PAY TO PLAY “ LEADER IN SUPPORT OF BROWNS MOVE OUT OF CLEVELAND

“He’s Playing for the Wrong Team,” Says Kucinich, Who Wrote the “Modell Law.;”
Remember, Miller had George Santos Thrown Out of Congress, Calling him a Crook”

Cleveland, Fri. (Oct. 25)  - - The owners of the Cleveland Browns, the Haslam Family, have contributed over $22,000 in this current election cycle to Congressman Max Miller, including $10,000 to Miller on August 11, 2023.  five days later, Miller wrote a glowing letter urging them to move the team out of Cleveland.  The total money given to Miller represents one of the largest contributions the Haslams have made to any member of the House of Representatives.

Miller’s  opponent in the November General Election in Ohio’s Seventh Congressional District, former US Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, exposed the connection between the Haslam money and Miller’s letter by revealing the record of campaign contributions, the timing and the letter which Miller himself published on Twitter.

“Max Miller received $10,000 for writing a single letter, on official congressional stationery, in support of moving the Browns.  This is clearly “Pay to Play,” a corruption of the political process, performing an official act after receiving a contribution and it is indefensible. The fact that the Haslams own Max Miller is an insult to every Browns fan and taxpayer,” said Kucinich.  “Remember Max Miller is the guy who called George Santos a crook and had him thrown out of Congress!” 

This isn’t the first time the Haslams have sought to use their money to block Kucinich’s return as a taxpayers’ defender.  In 2021, the Browns owners gave $44,000 to a federal Superpac which was organized to defeat Kucinich in the mayoral race.  

Federal rules allowed the Haslams to hide the contributions until after the mayor’s race.  The irony is that the Haslams capitalized on the “Modell Law,” which Kucinich authored, by purchasing the MLS Columbus Crew, whose move to Austin, Texas in 2018 was blocked when the Ohio Attorney General went to court armed with the “Modell Law.”  

“Except for the law I wrote, the Browns are free to move ANYWHERE.  This talk about moving to Brook Park could be the political equivalent of a Statue of Liberty football play, a fake out, to run somewhere else, and Max Miller is carrying the ball for the Haslams,” Kucinich warned.

“Jerry McGuire, in the movie by that name, said 'Show me the money.’  The Browns owners certainly have showed Congressman Miller the money. They bought his vote. But the Haslams have not yet showed where the money is coming from to build a suburban sports palace. It is not coming from the state.  It is not coming from Cuyahoga County.  It is not coming from any suburb.' 

“The Haslams certainly aren’t going to give $2.4 billion of their own money.  Until they provide  a genuine financial plan, their proposal is purely speculative and  lacks credibility, and, even more seriously, opens the door for them to move the Browns out of state,” Kucinich said. 

“My legislation stops them from moving out of Cleveland, which is why the fight to keep them in Cleveland is so critical.” Kucinich said.

“Miller has forfeited Team Cleveland’s game to the Haslams.  He’s playing for the wrong side and he is running the wrong way with the ball,” concluded Kucinich.

For further information contact: [email protected]

For Immediate Release

KUCINICH, AUTHOR OF MODELL LAW,SAYS HASLAM WANTS TO STIFF AREA TAXPAYERS FOR $350 MILLION, NULLIFY LAW    HE PROFITED FROM TO BUY COLUMBUS CREW. 

"THIS IS REALLY ABOUT A MAJOR DEVELOPMENT SCHEME”

CLEVELAND (Fri.) Oct. 25 – “The owner of the Cleveland Browns, who is worth at least $8 billion filed a lawsuit against one of the poorest cities in America, where the median income is $25,000, a city whose taxpayers invested $350 million in keeping the team in the City of Cleveland,” said Dennis Kucinich, who authored the “Modell Law,” in 1996, to protect taxpayers’ investment against another move. “So now it’s the Browns vs Cleveland, on the field and off the field,” Kucinich said. “We gave the Browns $350 million and they are still suing us.

"This is a legal maneuver by the Browns.  They claim the law is vague.  Nothing could be more vague than Haslam’s plan for financing for a new stadium, which borders on fraud. The Modell Law wasn’t vague in 2018 when Haslam took advantage of the law to purchase the Columbus Crew.  It makes one wonder if Haslam’s talk about Brook Park is actually a pretty mirage as he plans to move the team elsewhere for a bigger pay day.  

"It is clear the Browns want to head off a taxpayer’s suit in state court. I was prepared to move forward if the city did not, to protect the taxpayers’ investment. 

"Now the City of Cleveland MUST defend not only the Modell Law, but the $350 million investment which Clevelanders made in the team, an investment which has benefitted Haslam greatly.

"Let’s tell the truth about what is going on in our community. Haslam, an out-of-state multi-billionaire, has put forth a pie-in-the-sky proposal which will cost taxpayers billions of dollars, and not just for the stadium, but for new sewers, new roads and for cleaning up a toxic waste site on which the Haslem wants to build, the excavation of which will be a danger to everyone in Brook Park and the surrounding communities. 

'"The people of Brook Park, population 17,896, are pawns in Haslem’s scheme.  If Haslem can stick it to Cleveland, population 362,565, they will do it to the people of Brook Park in a minute, where the median income is $35,472. 

"If this development was to ever occur, it would force Brook Park's homeowners out, as taxes and sewer rates would go up.  It would create massive traffic jams on game days.  It would build a stadium where most people would not be able to afford to buy a ticket for the game.  The team would not be called the Brook Park Browns, but the Cleveland Browns.

"This is essentially a development scheme, using the Browns as a front, to  build not only a new sports palace but a new shopping area which will sink Crocker Park, kill downtown’s Rocket Mortgage Field House, in which the taxpayers have invested over $185 million, and will damage Jack, the downtown casino.

"Haslam would wreck over a hundred downtown businesses, including restaurants, bars, hotels, Arcade shops, street vendors and others who rely on the Browns to meet already thin profit margins, force them out of business or cause them to sell their businesses at a cut rate.  

'In sum, this represents an unfriendly takeover of downtown Cleveland.

"The other part of the development scheme is to tear down the lakefront stadium, and get even more tax dollars to build high income apartments.  

"Cleveland isn’t a token on Haslam’s monopoly board.  It is a great city which is struggling economically, and, no thanks to Haslam, must struggle again, not only to keep the team, but to protect its entire downtown against an obvious development scheme.  

'The Bibb Administration, which has been less than transparent during the entire period of talks with the Browns, has a moral obligation to put up a real fight in Federal Court,”  Kucinich concluded.

For further information contact: [email protected]

For Immediate Release

KUCINICH FILES ACTION TO ENFORCE LAW HE WROTE
TO PROTECT TAXPAYERS' INVESTMENT IN BROWNS AND
TO HELP KEEP THE TEAM ON CLEVELAND'S LAKEFRONT

CLEVELAND, Oct. 21 (Mon.) -- Dennis J. Kucinich today sent a taxpayer's demand letter to Cleveland Law Director Mark Griffin, preliminary to Kucinich filing suit to force the Browns owners to comply with a law he wrote as a State Senator, which is aimed at protecting the investment which taxpayers have made in the team and opening the door to prospective buyers who will keep the team in the city.  

Kucinich's taxpayer demand, a requirement under Ohio Law and the City Charter, bids the Cleveland Law Director to follow an ordinance passed by Cleveland City Council earlier this. year, which specifically directs Mr. Griffin to enforce ORC 9.67, also known as the 'Modell Law,' in remembrance of the Browns owner who moved the team to Baltimore in 1995, in a move which stunned the city.  At the time the city had no legal recourse.. The law Kucinich wrote changed that.
 
"As a state senator, I wrote ORC 9.67, (which went into effect on June 20, 1996), to protect the large investment which Cleveland taxpayers made in professional sports teams and to spare Cleveland or any other Ohio city another heartbreaking move of a team which is part of the soul of the city," Kucinich wrote Griffin. "ORC 9.67  remains in effect and you have the obligation to enforce it on behalf of the City of Cleveland.  I file this taxpayer’s demand consistent with that spirit."

CLICK HERE to see full text of the letter.

For further information, contact: [email protected]

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