Plain Dealer – In a statement released today by Brown’s campaign, 18 Ohio-based corporate CEOs, chairmen or presidents called Brown “a champion of Ohio’s business community.”

“We urge Ohioans across the state not to believe third-party attack ads that say otherwise,” their statement says. “Sherrod Brown has consistently demonstrated that Ohio jobs are his top priority and his commitment to strengthening Ohio employers will not waver. When it comes to Ohio’s business community, Senator Sherrod Brown is ready and willing to help.”

Signatories include Dominic Ozanne, president of Ozanne Construction; Joe Kanfer, president and CEO of GOJO Industries (and Brown’s campaign chairman in 2006); Liz Lessner, CEO of Betty’s Family of Restaurants; Joseph Ross, president of Challenger Manufacturing Co., and Ron Ratner, president and CEO of Forest City Residential Group.

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“It’s Senator Brown who is fighting to crack down on China’s illegal currency manipulation which has cost our state thousands of jobs over the year,” the statement says. “His bipartisan bill to help put an end to this practice has already passed the Senate with the support of Senator Rob Portman.

“Senator Brown has also been critical in the fight to stop outsourcing, voting to provide a payroll tax holiday for companies who replace overseas workers with American workers.

“The latest secretly funded special interest attack ad launched against Sherrod Brown is paid for by an organization that opposed Senator Brown on each of these critical issues. These ads plus others from additional special interest groups now equal nearly $3.5 million dollars and are proof of their determination to distort Senator Brown’s record on a host of issues, including his jobs record.

“The special interests do not speak for Ohio’s business community and are not fighting for Ohio jobs.”

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