Senator Bernie Moreno Blasts Chillicothe Mayor in Heated Letter Over Paper Mill Closure and Economic Development

- Advertisement -

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno has issued a sharply worded letter to Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney, accusing the mayor of political attacks, failing to support economic development efforts, and dismissing work being done to restore jobs following the closure of Chillicothe’s historic paper mill.

The two-page letter, dated October 31, 2026, comes amid ongoing discussions about the future of the former Mead Paper Mill and efforts to bring manufacturing jobs back to the community.

Page 1 of Sen. Bernie Moreno's October 31, 2026 letter to Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney — Page 1 of Sen. Bernie Moreno’s Oct. 31, 2026 letter to Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney.

Page 2 of Sen. Bernie Moreno's October 31, 2026 letter to Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney — Page 2 of the letter, closing with Moreno’s signature.

Moreno opened the letter by describing public service as a calling that sometimes requires sacrifice. He claimed to have spent the past year working to address the consequences of the mill’s closure, including dedicating a staff member to live in Chillicothe full-time.

The senator accused Feeney of using the situation to launch a political attack against fellow U.S. Senator Jon Husted just one week before an election.

Moreno defended the efforts made by his office and Husted, pointing to several developments involving the former paper mill.

According to the letter, those efforts include securing an additional 60 days of full wages and benefits for mill employees, recruiting a buyer who has reportedly restored 210 jobs in less than 12 months, and obtaining a $5.5 million commitment from the previous owner to former employees.

Moreno stated that approximately $1 million of that commitment has already been distributed directly to workers.

The senator also challenged what he described as inaccurate statements from Feeney regarding the number of jobs restored.

In one particularly pointed section, Moreno wrote that the mayor had made “false statement after false statement,” accusing him of claiming that only one in ten jobs had been restored.

Moreno further criticized the mayor for what he characterized as a lack of involvement in the mill’s recovery efforts.

The senator claimed that he had recently spent hours at the facility speaking with workers and reviewing progress, while suggesting that Feeney had not been present.

Moreno stated that paper production is expected to resume by the end of 2026, with additional manufacturing operations planned to help secure the facility’s future.

He also emphasized that he would not consider the recovery complete until the facility employed more than the 862 workers who lost their jobs.

Criticism Extends Beyond the Paper Mill

The letter did not stop with the mill closure.

Moreno also accused the Feeney administration of failing to respond to economic development inquiries involving potential investments in Chillicothe.

Among the examples cited was a proposed development of more than 200 market-rate apartments, which Moreno described as potentially the first new downtown housing development in decades.

The senator claimed that questions regarding building and zoning processes had gone unanswered, along with inquiries from businesses interested in expanding industrial operations.

Moreno also highlighted efforts involving domestic manufacturing, including proposed federal legislation known as the American Glove Act of 2026, which he said would require federal agencies to purchase nitrile gloves from American manufacturers.

He suggested the legislation could benefit manufacturers represented in the Chillicothe area.

Letter Ends With a Political Challenge

Moreno concluded by calling on Feeney to work alongside federal officials rather than engage in political disputes.

“Our constituents deserve better. Do the work we were elected to do or get out of the way,” Moreno wrote.

The senator also took aim at former U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, stating that he could have chosen to do nothing when the mill crisis unfolded in April 2025, but instead decided to act.

The letter represents a public escalation of tensions between federal and local leadership over the future of one of Chillicothe’s most significant industrial sites.

The statements and economic development figures outlined in the correspondence are Moreno’s claims and have not been independently verified for this report.

The provided correspondence does not include a response from Mayor Feeney.

Hopewell Heritage Headlines has reached out to Feeney for his side and will update this story when he responds.

Plenty of people in Chillicothe share the frustration behind the fight, whatever they think of the letter itself, and our coverage has followed it all year. Residents packed a high school auditorium in September to challenge the data center proposed for the site. A group calling itself Appalachians Against Data Centers has kept pressure on City Council over water, power and who decides the site’s future. And workers are still doing the math on jobs promised against jobs back.