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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM
OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2012
PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR:
Brian D. Tucker (btucker@crain.com) EDITOR:
Mark Dodosh (mdodosh@crain.com) MANAGING EDITOR:
Scott Suttell (ssuttell@crain.com)
OPINION
First and 10
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he children of Israel wandered 40 years in the desert before they finally entered the Promised Land. Fans of the Cleveland Browns have waited about half that long to see competitive football return to the shores of Lake Erie — and for an owner who seems passionate about winning. In Jimmy Haslam, they definitely have the latter. Precisely when the new owner’s passion translates into a consistent playoff contender remains to be seen. However, we doubt Browns fans will be waiting to see their team play football in January anywhere near as long as the Israelites waited to cross the river Jordan. Last week, Mr. Haslam officially became the designated savior of a team that has been stuck in expansion franchise mode, even though it has been 13 years since the Browns returned to the NFL as a replacement for the team that flew the coop to Baltimore after the 1995 season. The unanimous approval by NFL owners of Mr. Haslam’s $1 billion purchase of the Browns from Randy Lerner has injected hope in a fan base that has had little reason for optimism for nearly two decades. We believe it is hope that is not placed falsely. Yes, Mr. Haslam is an astute businessman who has enjoyed success in building the Pilot Flying J chain of highway truck stops. And yes, he knows it takes giving customers a quality product to keep them coming back for more. Then again, so do people who aren’t billionaires. There is a critical piece of business acumen Mr. Haslam brings with him to this new endeavor, though, that seemingly was lost on Mr. Lerner and even on his late father, Al, the original owner of the new Browns. It is the benefits of consciously creating a personal connection with your customers. Mr. Haslam has been a physical presence for weeks around Cleveland and the Browns. He has been interacting with players, coaches, politicians, the media, and, most importantly, the fans. He talked to them at training camp. He has sat with them in the Dawg Pound. Heck, he even was there to celebrate the team’s first victory in nearly a year when the Browns beat the Bengals two Sundays ago. In only three months, the Tennessee native has put a face on the team’s ownership. And that counts for something among people who shell out thousands of dollars for personal seat licenses and pay hundreds and even thousands more for tickets. Fans want to know that the person who signs the paychecks feels as impassioned as they do about the team they support. Mr. Haslam gets that. Last Wednesday, the day after NFL owners OK’d the deal, Mr. Haslam took out full-page ads in The Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon Journal to deliver a message to Browns fans. That message: He values the commitment of the fans, and he can’t wait to get started, “not just with this football team, but also with being active participants in the communities of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.” It is winning that ultimately will end the fans’ frustrations. In the meantime, it’s great to have an owner who’s letting fans know the love affair with their team is not a one-way street.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
The City Club alone shines in debate
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questions from the reporters’ panel, as ast week brought out the best and did his opponent. the, well, not-so-best in the first The highly partisan crowd didn’t help debate between U.S. Sen. Sherrod the mood much, either, drowning out Brown and his Republican chalthe moderator and the other candidate lenger, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel. with cheers for their own man. Some In the “best” category was the work sneered and laughed sarcastically at done by the host — The City Club of comments made by the candidates. Cleveland — which staged an event that One of the few specific ideas attracted a sellout crowd of I gathered was from Mr. Mandel, 1,300 and many news media BRIAN who advocated closing U.S. representatives to the Renais- TUCKER military bases in Europe as a sance Hotel ballroom. Debates way to cut the defense budget. are part of the rich 100 years of The rest was more of the same The City Club, and that its that we’ve heard from each small staff did this in the same man’s campaign ads. week it hosted another big There are two more debates crowd to celebrate the club’s left before the election. Let’s 100th anniversary was nothing hope that the next two help Ohio short of remarkable. voters make a choice that’s not While I hesitate to pick out based on personality, or party, but on the worst moment, I would say that neithe pressing issues we face in Ohio and ther of the two candidates offered much America. to differentiate themselves from what **** had been part of their messaging all AND SPEAKING OF POLITICS, it appears along in this hotly contested race. Sen. the members of our congressional deleBrown, a longtime Democratic Party gation are too busy this campaign season officeholder, avoided specifics in some
to answer their mail. An enterprising group of journalism students at Kent State University sent a certified letter to each of the 20 members of Congress from Ohio. The letter asked one question: The students wanted to know what other health care systems in the world each lawmaker had studied in order to help frame the future of ours. You know — that little piece of legislation known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act? You might have heard it mentioned a few times in this presidential campaign. Apparently, the students received just one thoughtful response — from Rep. Steve LaTourette, the Geauga County Republican who’s retiring. He actually included several documents he used in deciding how to vote on the law now known as Obamacare. A video produced by the students ended with a polite but impactful bit of advice: “The approval rating for Congress is at an all-time low. Maybe that rating would go up if you would respond to your mail.” Hard to argue with their logic. ■
LETTERS
Take redistricting away from politicians ■ Here are some good reasons to vote for Issue 2, the redistricting constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall: The League of Women Voters has studied for decades the problem of how best to form congressional and General Assembly districts. Over time, politicians have proven their inability to create fair districts. Special interests, unaccountable to voters, have more influence than voters in how districts are created. Districts formed by legislators after the 2010 Census offer voters the most egregiously gerrymandered districts ever. Consider two Cuyahoga County districts: District 9 now stretches from Toledo to Cleveland and District 11 reaches from Lake Erie deep into Akron. Passage of Issue 2 would set up a system that ends contorted, gerrymandered districts.
The League of Women Voters calls for a fair, nonpartisan plan that reflects how Ohioans vote, minimizes splits of counties and cities, creates compact districts, and maximizes the number of politically balanced districts. “Balance” means politicians have to compete for your vote. The nonpartisan independent commission mandated in Issue 2 will achieve the league’s longstanding recommendations. Politicians have had many chances to get it right; it’s high time to give the power back to voters. Vote “yes” on Issue 2. Carol Gibson Cleveland Heights
No fan of Obama ■ The election for president in November will be a very important one. Our president’s 2008 campaign championed his
ability to bring our country together, unify us, and reach across the aisle to create a better, stronger country. Just the contrary. Think about it — the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare, which will be his landmark legislation) did not reach across the aisle; not one Republican (in the House or Senate) voted for it. How can one who was so dedicated to bringing everyone together not garner one Republican vote? Let us also consider what is being promoted to unify us currently: “Wealthy not paying their fair share.” Based on 2009 data, only 1% of our taxpayers paid 38% of all taxes, and 0.1% of all taxpayers paid 18% of all taxes. These data tell me they are paying their fair share. This does not mean they cannot pay a little more, or that we should not revise our tax laws See LETTERS Page 9