CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam are among the largest contributors to a political action committee working to defeat Ohio Issue 1, newly-released campaign finance reports show.
The proposed Ohio constitutional amendment would change the state’s current political mapmaking system to allow boundaries to be drawn by a citizen-led redistricting commission, rather than the current process where the power rests in the state legislature as well as a commission including the governor and secretary of state. The group Ohio Works refers to Issue 1 as “a Democrat power grab that will cost taxpayers MILLIONS and take away their input.”
Records filed with Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office show the Haslams have donated a total of $100,000 to Ohio Works, with a $50,000 donation coming from Jimmy Haslam and another of the same amount from Dee Haslam. Both are listed on the finance report as owners of the Haslam Sports Group, with a P.O. Box address from Knoxville, Tennessee…