ETHICS

Shontel Brown achieved her present position in Congress because of party loyalty and not because of merit or ability.

She was Chair of the same Cuyahoga County Democratic Party as Jimmy Dimora once was.  At the same time, she was also a member of Cuyahoga County Council while also running for election to Congress.  The Cleveland Plain Dealer criticized her for this.

Shontel Brown presently has nearly $1,000,000 in her campaign account.  And this is after she claimed in the past that she supports “initiatives to get money out of politics” to “reduce the role of money in politics.”  She receives large donations from political action committees.  She also receives money through Act Blue, a liberal clearinghouse, but does not itemize the names of donors.  That is what is called “dark money.”

And it should be asked what return on investment (“ROI”) Shontel Brown has promised large donors in return.

During the last campaign, it was suggested by her opponent that Shontel Brown might have used her insider position on Cuyahoga County Council to help steer $17 million in public construction contracts to companies connected to her boyfriend and some who donated money to her campaign.  Brown previously had pledged to recuse herself from public contracts as necessary.  Her activities may have been legal.  But at the very least, they had the appearance of impropriety.

Shontel Brown has misrepresented her effectiveness.

     * She takes credit for accomplishments she had little or nothing to do with.

     * She doesn’t do much legislating.

     * Most bills that she brags about “co-sponsoring” never became law.

     * She had virtually nothing to do with writing or advancing legislation.

The Plain Dealer once described her as an “undistinguished member of Cuyahoga County Council who has little to show for her time in office.”  Nothing has changed since her election to Congress.