NEW VIDEO: Josh Mandel, The No-Show Treasurer
WASHINGTON - On the heels of a report yesterday showing that Josh Mandel has skipped every meeting in his first year in office of eight boards on which he sits, American Bridge today is releasing a new video entitled “Josh Mandel, the No-Show Treasurer.” In Mandel’s second year in office, he has attended a grand total of seven Board of Deposit meetings, which he only started attending after the AP noted his absence. He has still not attended a single meeting of any of the other seven boards.
Josh Mandel Refusing to Comply with Ohio Open Records Law
WASHINGTON – American Bridge 21st Century is calling on Ohio Treasurer and Senate candidate Josh Mandel to comply with Ohio open records law after our requests have gone ignored for months. American Bridge has submitted two simple requests nine and ten weeks ago for which we have received no information or even an acknowledgment. We contend that Mandel is now in violation of the law for failing to respond in a reasonable amount of time. Mandel’s office has been in the news lately for his failure to comply with these types of requests despite claiming in the press to support transparency and compliance with the federal Freedom of Information Act. “This is yet another example of Josh Mandel making verifiably false statements to the press while failing to comply with the simplest of duties,” said Matt Thornton, spokesman for American Bridge 21st Century. “Mandel’s entire justification for running for Senate is his supposed expert management of the Treasurer’s office -- a job he is obviously neglecting.”
VIDEO: Josh Mandel: Ohio’s Artful Dodger
Washington DC - Josh Mandel has been developing quite the reputation for dodging questions, refusing to take positions, and flat-out lying as he campaigns for the Senate. In addition to our previously released video highlighting Mandel’s refusal to comment on the FBI investigation into his campaign contributions, American Bridge is releasing a video of Mandel dodging yet another question: why did he start running for the Senate just after taking office as Ohio Treasurer? Spoiler alert: despite talking for a very long time, he never answers the question.
MEMO: Josh Mandel FBI Investigation
When Josh Mandel became Ohio’s Treasurer barely a year ago, he was entrusted to act as a responsible steward of the state’s funds. Mandel quickly violated that trust by failing to fulfill the responsibilities of his job so he could campaign for a Senate seat instead. Mandel has also acted irresponsibly by flouting campaign finance rules. Questionable contributions made to his Senate campaign by employees of Suarez Corporation are now under investigation by the FBI. The suspicious nature of the donations was raised by the press to Mandel last year, as it was noted how unusual it was for multiple employees (and their spouses) of the same company, many whom have never before given to federal campaigns, to each make maximum donations to the same candidates. Yet Mandel refused to investigate the donations, and returned them only after the press reported on the existence of an FBI investigation. And though he has now returned $105,000 in tainted donations, Mandel has yet to come clean. He refuses to identify when he became aware of the FBI investigation, how he learned of the investigation, and how long he waited before returning the donations. This is to say nothing of whether he knew that the contributions were illegal before they were made, and still chose to accept them anyway. With the FBI investigating these contributions to Mandel’s campaign, Ohio voters are asking the same question: what is Josh Mandel hiding?
VIDEO: Josh Mandel's Flaming Pants
Washington DC - Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel has amassed a long trail of maliciously misleading and inaccurate statements - which is bad enough - but he did have one moment of brutal honesty lately. When confronted with his penchant for dishonesty, Mandel vowed to repeat his lies “again and again,” seeing no downside as reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “Josh Mandel is so committed to rapidly advancing his career that he will stop at nothing - including shirking his responsibilities to the state of Ohio, appointing political cronies to positions of responsibility, and trampling the truth - to gain higher political office. It is a sad day when an elected official vows to continue lying to voters for political gain even when proven wrong,” said Matt Thornton, spokesman for American Bridge 21st Century. You can view the video here:
Dayton Daily News: Treasurer Mandel Under Scrutiny For Hiring Practices
On March 31, 2012, the Dayton Daily News reported:
Republican Josh Mandel hired young, relatively inexperienced staffers from his 2010 campaign and gave them high-ranking jobs in the state treasurer’s office, a Dayton Daily News examination found.
1600PennAve: For The Record: Josh Mandel, Akron Press Club, And The Campaign Fishbowl
On March 29, 2012, the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue blog wrote:
Following the Mandel event, media reports surfaced that the Mandel campaign attempted to prevent opposition trackers from recording Mandel’s speech to the Press Club. Since I was present at the event and since questions continue to be raised, I wanted to post, for the record, my thoughts about what transpired.
Plain Dealer: Even In An Age Of Fact-Check Journalism, The Political Whopper Lives
On March 24, 2012, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported:
Josh Mandel's already casual relationship with the truth took a turn toward outright estrangement this month. [...] PolitiFact Ohio already had done the "grunt work" and found that the examples cited by Mandel's campaign failed to back up his claim, hence the Pants on Fire rating. Right or wrong, Mandel vowed to repeat the assertion "again and again" and said he sees no downside.
Huffington Post: Josh Mandel Senate Campaign Aides Block Democratic Trackers
On March 9, 2012, the Huffington Post reported:
When Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel (R) formally kicked off his Senate campaign earlier this month, a scuffle in the back of the room drew attention away from him. A Mandel aide was using his hands, body, head and hair to block a state Democratic Party employee from filming Mandel as he spoke and gladhanded around the room. The practice of taping opponents' public comments, known as tracking, is common but some in Ohio said Mandel's campaign is the "most aggressive" in blocking it.
Mandel’s Series Of Unfortunate Events
Despite starting his Senate campaign just weeks after taking office as Ohio’s Treasurer, Josh Mandel is making his campaign “official” at the Akron Press Club today - an event he initially refused to attend because he was “too busy.” The story of his campaign to this point has been nothing but embarrassing; here is a look back at some of his greatest hits. “Mandel’s campaign to this point has been such a comedy of errors, I can’t wait to see what happens now that he is making his Senate run ‘official.’ From neglecting his Treasurer duties, to accepting questionable donations, to bungling the most basic paperwork, I suspect his incompetence will continue to entertain,” said Matt Thornton, spokesman for American Bridge 21st Century.