Cleveland City Council struck back at Dee and Jimmy Haslam last week for taking the Browns to Brook Park — and needled Mayor Justin Bibb for his $100 million settlement with the team.
Council voiced its displeasure with the situation by voting to withhold $1.1 million owed to the team for repairs to the lakefront stadium.
Some members went even further. They voted against resurfacing part of Brookpark Road — one of Cleveland’s own city streets — that is near the site of the proposed new Browns stadium.
The resurfacing project started in 2023 and covered stretches of road that are miles away from the stadium. This is the next phase of work. The measure passed with 8 votes in favor and 5 against.
But the message was sent.
Ward 12’s Tanmay Shah made clear that his opposition to fixing Brookpark Road was aimed at the Haslams, who landed $600 million for the new stadium from a pool of Ohioans’ unclaimed payments.
“This is going to be the main thoroughfare, the main entry point for a lot of people,” Shah said at a committee hearing. “And once again, indirectly, it is going to benefit the Haslams because they are going to have these nice roads now that they don’t deserve.”
The wave of no votes irritated Ward 15’s Charles Slife, who represents the stretch of Brookpark Road due for an overhaul. He said the street was in “terrible shape.”
“If this body is going to vote against needs for my ward related to this project — or just because they happen to be near a project — we’re going to have some problems,” he said.
The next day, Slife said the conflict was “water under the bridge.” But perhaps not the Brookpark Road bridge, which is closed for repairs.
Major moments for Cleveland mayors
Before we go, Weekly Chatter would like to congratulate a Cleveland mayor who celebrated a very special milestone in October.
That’s right, former Mayor Frank Jackson turned 80. (Oh, and Justin Bibb got married.)
Jackson, Cleveland’s longest-serving mayor, wasn’t the only former city leader to join the octogenarian club in October. So did Dennis Kucinich, who served a term as mayor in the late 1970s.
Kucinich and Jackson were born in 1946, a year that produced many Baby Boomer politicians. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Donald Trump are all ’46 babies.
Meanwhile, once-eligible-bachelor Bibb and attorney Mia Garcia married in late October. On social media, the couple shared a wedding photo taken in City Hall’s Red Room beneath portraits of former mayors.
Bibb, 39, won’t ring in his 80th until 2067.
