Browns co-owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam aren’t just rallying support for a potential new stadium in Brook Park, they are rallying Republicans for U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno.  

“Ohio is ground zero,” they wrote in a recent letter to potential supporters about a Sept. 5 fundraiser at their home. “This means we need you off the sidelines and in the fight to get Bernie Moreno elected to the U.S. Senate.”

The Haslams are well-known GOP backers and frequent hosts. They have helped raise money for JD Vance and many high-profile Republicans. The Haslams portray Democrat Sherrod Brown as simply lucky, in part for having faced weak Republicans in the past. 

“Sherrod Brown has struck lightning twice – running in a good political environment and then running against a bad Republican opponent,” they wrote. “In June 2018, Jim Renacci was losing to Sherrod Brown by 16 points while Bernie Moreno is down by just 5-points at the same point in the race despite coming off a three-person primary with 67% of the advertising spent negatively against him.”

Brown, who had more money in his campaign account than Moreno during the last reporting period, likely doesn’t feel too bad about losing the Browns’ backing. That’s because it’s well known he prefers baseball. 

Matthew Ahn still talking about prosecutor’s office

Matthew Ahn, who mounted a spirited but short-lived challenge to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley in the Democratic primary in March, has a new job. 

An attorney and former law professor, Ahn has joined the Ohio Justice & Policy Center, a nonprofit law firm with offices in Cincinnati and Columbus that offers legal help to  incarcerated people. Its work includes removing legal barriers to employment and housing for those who are released. 

Ahn heads OJPC’s Beyond Guilt Project, which specializes in helping “over-punished” incarcerated people who have served significant portions of their sentences. 

“I look forward to working with community members and prosecutor’s offices all across Ohio to relieve our overburdened prison system and improve the law to better serve public safety,” Ahn told Signal Cleveland. 

Ahn, who grew up in North Royalton, said he is staying in town. 

“OJPC hired me as part of a planned expansion that includes opening a Cleveland office in the near future,” he said. 

Speaking for himself, and not for OJPC, he re-upped a few talking points from his campaign. 

“I believe that this is important to address community needs in Northeast Ohio, especially given Cuyahoga County’s track record of wrongful convictions (and wrongful death sentences in particular), as well as the elected prosecutor’s continued focus on overcharging, over sentencing, and fighting against winning post-conviction claims,” he said. 

So does this mean Ahn is eyeing another political run someday? 

“I’m still on the central and executive committees of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, and I can say (in my personal capacity) that there’s a lot of work for me and the rest of the party to do in and around Cleveland between now and November,” he said. 

“While numerous voters have asked me if I’m running in next year’s municipal elections, I’m focused right now on making sure we keep the conversation moving about how prosecutorial policy continues to shape our community and how we build a truly safe and just society for all.”