Josh Mandel - Biography

Josh Mandel (born September 27, 1977) is the current Ohio State Treasurer. Mandel previously served as a Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives. He has set up a U.S. senatorial campaign committee with the Federal Elections Commission, although he has stopped short of formally announcing that he will challenge incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown in 2012.

Early life, education, and military service

Mandel was born on September 27, 1977. He attended Beachwood High School where he was the quarterback of the football team. Mandel attended The Ohio State University where he earned a BA in communications. At Ohio State, he served two terms as the undergraduate student government president. While there he was also a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. After graduating in 2000, he earned a JD from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Mandel enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, where he served eight years, including times as an intelligence specialist, having graduated first in his class from Marine Corps Boot Camp and first in his class from Marine Corps Intelligence School. His Marine Corps duty included two tours in Iraq, where he operated throughout the Al Anbar Province. During both tours, Mandel was awarded the Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal for "superior performance of his duties." His first tour was from February 2004 to November 2004, during which he was attached to a light armored reconnaissance battalion. He left for his second tour in September 2007. Attached to an infantry battalion, Mandel served in the city of Haditha. Despite being an intelligence specialist, he would often go out on foot patrols with the infantry.

Political career

Lyndhurst Councilman

Mandel's previous elected experience includes service as a Lyndhurst, Ohio city councilman, where he was elected in 2003. Mandel served three years on the council's finance committee. Additionally, Mandel introduced and led the fight for the first property tax rollback in Lyndhurst history, which currently remains one of the only property tax rollbacks in Ohio history.

Ohio House of Representatives

Elections

Mandel was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 2006. He represented Ohio's 17th House district, representing 17 communities of various sizes in southeastern Cuyahoga County. He was re-elected in 2008 and served a second term.

Tenure

Mandel's first piece of legislation as a State Representative, H.B. 151, was an initiative to force the multi-billion dollar Ohio pension funds to divest from companies doing business in Iran. He joined State Representative Shannon Jones (R) in an attempt to make Ohio the first state in the nation to divest from Iran, but the legislation was never signed into law due to a compromise between state pension executives and Ohio House leadership, agreed to by Mandel. Then-Speaker of the Ohio House Jon Husted brokered a deal to drop half of the state's investments in Iran and Sudan with the eventual goal of removing all investment from the two countries. In April 2010, Mandel appeared on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" to discuss his leadership on Iran divestment in Ohio.

In the 128th Assembly, Mandel was one of 19 house members to vote against HB108, a bill to make cockfighting a felony. Mandel defended his vote by stating that he believed the General Assembly's time would be better spent focused on job creation, keeping people from leaving the state and returning fiscal responsibility to state government.

Also in the 128th Assembly, Mandel voted against the Ohio House Bill 176, the Equal Housing and Employment Act which "[p]rohibits discriminatory practices on the basis of "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" under many of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) Law's existing prohibitions against various unlawful discriminatory practices.". The bill passed the Ohio House by a vote of 56 to 39.

In the 127th Assembly, Mandel, along with other members of the Ohio House who served in Iraq, were excused from voting on HB649 in December 2008, which provided payments to military veterans of the Middle East wars and compensation to families who had lost loved ones in the conflicts.

State Treasurer

On November 2, 2010, Mandel was elected Ohio State Treasurer, defeating incumbent Kevin Boyce to become chief investment officer of state funds. Mandel's election marked the first time since 1958 that an incumbent Ohio Treasurer was defeated in a bid for reelection. Mandel won 54.89% of the votes cast for the Treasurer's race. Boyce won 40.21%. Mandel received a total of 2,008,892 votes, which was more than any other candidate running for an Ohio statewide executive office in the November 2010 election.

In the summer of 2010, Mandel released a fiscal year "Top-Bottom Review" of the Treasurer's office in which he details cuts and modernizing banking practices in the office which helped "produce a $400,000 surplus" and an "estimated $1.2 million savings in the current biennium." While appearing on CNBC's Worldwide Exchange television program, Mandel stated he was proud to "walk the walk as a fiscal conservative."

According to the Ohio Treasurer's website, Mandel seeks "[t]o be the premier state treasury recognized for fiscal leadership and community engagement relevant to Ohio and its residents."

In May 2009, Mandel announced his candidacy for Ohio Treasurer of State via web video.

Mandel's campaign generated controversy in late September 2010 when it ran a commercial that, according to The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), "associated ... Kevin Boyce with a mosque". The commercial was met with criticism for "tapping into anti-Muslim biases". Mandel's campaign eventually replaced the ad.

2012 U.S. Senate run

In April 2011, Mandel set up a U.S. senatorial campaign committee with the Federal Elections Commission. A spokesman for Mandel said that the move was "not a formal announcement of candidacy", but a "step". The Ohio Democratic Party has criticized Mandel for the possible campaign, saying that "Mandel would be breaking a campaign promise to serve as treasurer for a full, four-year term if he runs for U.S. Senate."

Nevertheless, national conservative pundits and blogs, such as Hugh Hewitt, RedState, and various executive Ohio officeholders have encouraged Mandel to challenge Senator Brown. Josh Mandel has earned the endorsement of the Club for Growth, Jim DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund, Senator Rob Portman, Congressman Jim Jordan and conservative commentators Hugh Hewitt and Mark Levin. He also raised $2.6 million in the first quarter for a campaign compared to Senator Brown's $1.5 million.

Political positions

Current Middle East operations

Mandel supports U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In October 2009, he appeared on the show "FOX & Friends" stating his support for the military surge plan to Afghanistan. In an interview at the Republican Jewish Coalition quarterly meeting in Ft. Lauderdale in 2009, Mandel thanked former President George W. Bush for his support on Iraq, and would not have "played Monday morning quarterback" on the decisions concerning the war, offering no dissent on the operation.

Israel

AIPAC

Mandel was a member of AIPAC at the Ohio State University. In 2008, he attended the 2008 AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C, where he gave an address, and was quoted as saying "It was inspiring, the young people so motivated and gung ho about strengthening the Israel-United States relationship...Israel is our best friend and ally in the Middle East and it’s important that we maintain a strong and lasting relationship with them."

At this conference, Mandel stated Iran was a threat, and discussed his divestment initiatives as a legislator in Ohio.

Operation Cast Lead

In February 2009, during Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli government issued a statement thanking Mandel for his support of the operation.

World Alliance for Israel PAC

In May 2009, Mandel was a panel participant at the 2009 Awards and Installation Dinner held by the World Alliance for Israel PAC in the Los Angeles area.

Family and personal life

Mandel and his wife Ilana reside in Beachwood, Ohio. They were married August 28, 2008, in Jerusalem.

Mandel's family emigrated to the United States. His grandfather Joe is originally from Poland and is a Holocaust survivor while his grandmother, Fernanda, is originally from Italy and was hidden from the Nazis by a Catholic family during World War II. In a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition, he said the tribulations of his grandparents and family inspired him to public service. Mandel's grandfather Harold served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.

External links

• Josh Mandel campaign website
• Josh Mandel's Announcement Video for Treasurer
• Ohio Treasurer Hopeful Visits Voters at Home
• Some Lawmakers Pull Double Duty as Soldiers
• Statewide candidates stake their positions: Round the Rotunda