Richard Bradley "Rich" Iott (born October 25, 1951)
is a President at Braeburn Entertainment, Ltd
and was the 2010
Republican nominee for
United States Representative
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
for
Ohio's 9th District. A lifelong resident of
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, he is a former grocery executive, and is now a film producer and an active investor in a number of small businesses.
Early life and education
Iott is the son of grocers Wallace "Wally" Iott and Jeanette Iott of
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...
.
He attended
parochial Parochial is an adjective which may refer to:
* Parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a ...
grade school and graduated from
Sylvania High School (now Northview) in 1969.
Iott wanted to enlist in the military during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
era, but was refused due to a heart murmur.
He attended
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College is a Private university, private, Conservatism in the United States, conservative, Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1844 by members of the Free Will Baptists. Women were admi ...
, but did not graduate.
Career
He worked in the family grocery business, which grew to be the
Seaway Food Town regional chain of 75 supermarkets and drug stores.
He started out in clerk jobs in 1966 then moved up into management,
becoming the President of the corporation in 1989. He was CEO from 1996 until the business was merged with Spartan Stores
SpartanNash Company (formerly Grand Rapids Wholesale Grocery Company and Spartan Stores, Inc.) is an American food distribution and retail company headquartered in Byron Center, Michigan. The company was founded in 1917 and was formerly known ...
in 2000.
Since leaving the grocery business, Iott has become involved with start-up companies, ranging from 3D imaging to salsa making. He is also a filmmaker
Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
, producing over thirty feature films, mainly as an executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
, between 2007 and the present, including films for the SyFy Channel, Lifetime Channel
Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...
, a 3D family film '' Call of the Wild'' and the multiple award-winning '' Beautiful Boy'' starring Michael Sheen
Michael Christopher Sheen (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage roles in ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1992), ''Don't Fool wi ...
and Maria Bello
Maria Bello (born April 18, 1967) is an American actress and producer. Her first major film role was in 1998's '' Permanent Midnight''. She followed this with a range of supporting and leading parts in films such as '' Payback'' (1999), '' Coyot ...
. He was co-founder of Toledo's Black Swamp International Film Festival in 2009 and is also a member of the Producers Guild of America
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing the interests Television producer, television producers, Film producer, film producers and emerging media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership inclu ...
(PGA).
Military service
Beginning in 1982, Iott served in the Ohio Military Reserve
The Ohio Military Reserve (OHMR) is one of three separate components that make up the Ohio State Defense Force (SDF). Like other SDF's the Ohio Military Reserve functions as a reserve to the Ohio National Guard.
State Defense Forces are not eligi ...
(OHMR), a State Defense Force
In the United States, state defense forces (SDFs) are military units that operate under the sole authority of a State governments of the United States, state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are unde ...
that is trained to provide logistics and resource support during disasters or threats to homeland security. Iott is a graduate of the United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
Command and General Staff College
The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...
and the United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
Air War College
The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University (United States Air Force), Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, ...
. He also holds a parachutist rating from both the Israeli Defense Force
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
and the Army of The Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. He retired at the rank of Colonel in April 2016 after more than 32 years of service. His last assignment was as the Deputy Commander of the OHMR. Iott is the recipient of the State of Ohio Distinguished Service Medal.
Community service
Iott has been on numerous community boards over the years including the Toledo Zoo, the Toledo Chamber of Commerce, St. Ursula Academy, St. John's Jesuit, Erie Shores Council of the Boy Scouts, and St. Luke's Hospital. He was Chairman of the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants. As president of the Iott Foundation, Iott funded the construction of a three-story expansion of St. Ursula's all-girls Catholic high school in 2006; The Iott Center at St. John's Jesuit, an all-boys Catholic high school in 2009, and the Iott Scout Shop at the new Erie Shores Council, B.S.A. headquarters in 2013.
2010 U.S. House campaign
Iott began his run for Congress as an independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
, announcing his candidacy in late January 2010. Of his lack of political experience, Iott said, "That is exactly my qualification," and, "I am not a politician, never have been, and don't intend to become one." Following complaints by members of the Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2007, catapulted into the mainstream by Congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign. The movement expanded in resp ...
that having a conservative independent and a conservative Republican on the November ballot would split the vote, Iott dropped his independent candidacy and ran in the Republican primary against Jack Smith, a retired Toledo police chief and Vietnam veteran. Iott defeated Smith on May 4, with 12,668 votes to Smith's 4,729.
Iott's opponent in the general election was Democratic nominee Marcy Kaptur
Marcia Carolyn Kaptur ( ; born June 17, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Ohio's 9th congressional district. Currently in her 22nd term, she has been a member of Congress since 1983.
A member of the Democr ...
; initially Libertarian
Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
candidate Jeremy D. Swartz who withdrew so the Libertarian Party of Ohio replaced him by appointing Joseph Michael Jaffe. Several media outlets described Iott as a Tea Party favorite. His campaign was largely self-financed, with $823,100 in loan contributions coming from Iott as of June 30, 2010. As of September 30, Iott had raised and spent $1.5 million, with approximately $1.4 million in candidate self-financing through loans.
Iott lost the election to incumbent Democrat Marcy Kaptur by 35,822 votes. He won Ottawa and Lorain counties, split Erie county and lost Lucas county. This represented a 59%-41% victory.
"Who Killed Food Town" controversy
The Marcy Kaptur
Marcia Carolyn Kaptur ( ; born June 17, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Ohio's 9th congressional district. Currently in her 22nd term, she has been a member of Congress since 1983.
A member of the Democr ...
Campaign maintained that Iott was unfit for office because he had "run the company into the ground", "took the money and ran", and put "5,000 people out of work". This was promoted through an intense television, radio, newspaper, and social media campaign, with the assistance of the United Food and Commercial Workers
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a trade union, labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufa ...
(UFCW) union local. Reporters Lara Seligman, Michael Morse and Eugene Kiely of FactCheck.Org released a well researched story on September 17, 2010, which stated that the allegations were all false and misleading.
The article said "the company prospered during the years that Rich Iott served as president and CEO, from 1996 to 2000. In July 1999, the company reported its best ever third-quarter financial results. During the fiscal 1999 third quarter, the company reported that sales increased 8.3 percent to $167.3 million, up from $154.6 million the year before. The company opened three new stores between 1998 and 1999."
In October 1999, the ''Cleveland Plain Dealer
''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...
'' described Seaway Food Town as a "well run" hometown grocery store that would be attractive to larger companies at a time when the industry was consolidating. "In the last six months, the company's stock has jumped 130 percent, coming off a fiscal year that saw earnings jump 8 percent to $167.3 million. And from 1994 to 1998, earnings catapulted 300 percent on revenues that increased only 14 percent during the same period."
FactCheck.Org goes on to say it was "wrong to blame Iott for "closing our neighborhood stores," and it goes too far in blaming him for "costing 5,000 people their jobs." Although he was a major player in the decision to merge Food Town with Spartan Stores
SpartanNash Company (formerly Grand Rapids Wholesale Grocery Company and Spartan Stores, Inc.) is an American food distribution and retail company headquartered in Byron Center, Michigan. The company was founded in 1917 and was formerly known ...
, there is no evidence that he was involved in the decisions to close Food Town stores. In the end, the ad's summary charge — that Iott "doesn't create jobs, he sells them off" — misrepresents what happened to Food Town and its employees, and who was responsible for it." Spartan did not close the stores until 2003 - three years after Iott had left the company.
The ''Toledo Blade
''The Blade'', also known as the ''Toledo Blade'', is a newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, published daily online and printed Thursday and Sunday by Block Communications. The newspaper was first published on December 19, 1835.
Overview
The first issu ...
'', the local newspaper, also drew the same conclusions, giving Representative Kaptur the chance to recant or revise her allegations. She chose, instead, to stand by her statements.
Waffen-SS reenactment controversy
Iott received national media attention in October 2010 when it was reported in ''The Atlantic'' that he was a member of a Waffen-SS reenactment group that portrays the German SS Division Wiking
The 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking () or SS Division Wiking was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions of Nazi Germany. During World War II, the division served on the Eastern Front. It surrendere ...
(German for 'Viking'). ''The Atlantic'' also published two pictures of Iott dressed as an SS man that were replicated virally on the internet and by other news sources. Iott told ''The Atlantic'' that his interest was historical and that he absolutely does not agree with the tenets of Nazism
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
. He said he joined because reenactments were a hobby and a father-son bonding experience, and that he has participated in a range of reenactments over the years including as a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, and as American soldiers in World War I and II. Iott's campaign said the candidate had not engaged in any reenactments for about five years.
According to the ''Toledo Free Press'', Iott joined the group in 2002 and was listed on the membership rolls through 2008. In response to the ensuing criticism, Iott said he never intended disrespect towards anyone through his reenactments, and later said the story was a coordinated character assassination attempt by his opponent to distract from the issues. Swastikas were found painted on several of Iott's campaign lawn signs on October 13, 2010, with Iott accusing the Kaptur campaign of "inciting these hateful actions".
A Holocaust survivors' group said that Iott's wearing of the SS uniform was "disgraceful", and the Republican Jewish Coalition called Iott unfit for office. A local rabbi predicted the reaction would be negative and would not be limited to Jewish people. The JTA News Service noted that Iott had not apologized. Some Republican leaders distanced themselves from Iott in the wake of the controversy. House Republican whip
A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...
Eric Cantor
Eric Ivan Cantor (born June 6, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented Virginia's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2014. A Republican, Cantor served as House Mino ...
, who is Jewish, told ''Fox News'' that he repudiated and did not support Iott's actions. The National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the United States Republican Party, Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives.
The NRCC was formed in 1866, when the Repub ...
removed Iott from its website list of preferred "contenders". A Jewish friend and movie business partner of Iott offered a defense, calling Iott one of the most pro Jewish and pro Israel people he knows. Toledo City Councilman Rob Ludeman said he was not withdrawing his support of Iott because of one incident in the past. The Lucas County GOP chief continued to back Iott, emphasizing that the county Republican Party organization did not condone Nazis, and adding the claim that this was nothing more than politically motivated mudslinging and an attempt to split the party. U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner
John Andrew Boehner ( ; born , 1949) is an American politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. representative ...
continued to solicit funds for Iott's campaign through his Freedom Project PAC. A Freedom Project spokesman said Boehner was not concerned about the reenactments turning off voters or donors.
Endorsements
The pro-life
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the lega ...
Susan B. Anthony List
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is an American 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the US, by supporting United States anti-abortion movement, anti-abortion poli ...
Candidate Fund endorsed Iott on July 13, saying he would be a supporter of pro-life issues. The political action committee of the National Federation of Independent Business
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is an association of small businesses in the United States. It is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, with offices in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals. The stated goal of NFIB ...
endorsed Iott on September 23, based on Iott's positions on health care, taxes, and regulation. The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (the lobbying arm of the Citizens Against Government Waste
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in the United States. It functions as a "government watchdog" and advocacy group for fiscally conservative causes. The Council for Citizens Against Government Wast ...
) endorsed Iott on October 6, saying he had signed the PAC's "No Pork Pledge" and was committed to fiscal conservatism, cutting taxes, and reducing the size of government. Other endorsements came from the Change the Congress in 2010 PAC and the Gun Owners of America
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a gun rights organization in the United States. It makes efforts to differentiate itself from the larger National Rifle Association (NRA) and has publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what it consid ...
Political Victory Fund which gave him a grade of A. Iott received a grade AQ from the NRA Political Victory Fund
The Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is the political action committee (PAC) of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). Founded in 1976, the Fund endorses political candidates on behalf of the NRA and contributes money to those candidate's ...
, which is an A based on how he answered the NRA's questionnaire,
Selected political positions
According to his campaign website, as a candidate Iott advanced these political positions in 2010:
* He stated he would vote to repeal the 2010 health care reform legislation because he believes it is unconstitutional, a "job killer", and will lead to rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution (marketing), distribution of scarcity, scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resourc ...
. He stated he would vote for tort reform
Tort reform consists of changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes ...
and would vote to make it possible for people to buy insurance across state lines.
* He opposes the cap and trade
Carbon emission trading (also called carbon market, emission trading scheme (ETS) or cap and trade) is a type of emissions trading scheme designed for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). A form of carbon price, carbon pricing ...
energy bill and is in favor of market-driven solutions to energy problems.
* He believes the government bailouts were unconstitutional, a waste of taxpayer money, and a violation of free market
In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...
principles.
* He pledged never to ask for earmarks when elected to Congress.
* He believes the Social Security
Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...
system needs to be reformed, but does not believe in privatizing
Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
it, increasing the retirement age
This article lists the statutory retirement age in different countries. In some contexts, the retirement age is the age at which a person is expected or required to cease work. It is usually the age at which such a person may be entitled to recei ...
, changing recipients' benefits, or raising taxes.
* He believes in sealing the borders and deporting all illegal immigrants
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
who come to the attention of law enforcement, and supports Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
's controversial immigration legislation, Arizona SB 1070
The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (introduced as Arizona Senate Bill 1070 and commonly referred to as Arizona SB 1070) is a 2010 legislative act in the U.S. state of Arizona that was the broadest and strictest ant ...
.
* He believes that the Iraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
was a success, and supports an escalation of the War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire
* Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...
.
* He supports America's participation in international free trade agreements.
* He believes that same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
is immoral but that making it illegal is a civil violation of equal rights.
* He supports Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
's right to self-defense and says America has an obligation to support it; he opposes a Palestinian
Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine.
*: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
state formed by taking land from Israel and a divided Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, and believes that the UN has become irrelevant.
References
External links
Rich Iott
''official site''
*
Financial information
at OpenSecrets.org
Rich Iott
on FactCheck.org
*
Rich Iott
''official blog site''
Rich Iott
''Rich Iott Entertainment site''
Rich Iott
''Rich Iott On Spoke''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iott, Rich
Living people
1951 births
American food industry business executives
Ohio Republicans
Politicians from Toledo, Ohio
Catholics from Ohio