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COLUMBUS – Republican candidate for Treasurer Josh Mandel's pathetic conspiracy theories hit a new low over the weekend, with Mandel's campaign attacking Treasurer Kevin L. Boyce over a competitively bid contract that saved Ohio taxpayers $19.7 million. The Mandel campaign alleged that the contract was given not because of its low bid, but because of the Facebook friends of the deputy treasurer.

COLUMBUS – The Ohio Democratic Party revealed a group of Josh Mandel's campaign contributors with criminal financial histories. The State Representative and Republican candidate for State Treasurer has taken campaign cash from a man who pled guilty to paying $1 million in bribes to the New York Controller, a CEO of a company convicted of deceptive loan practices, and the Vice Chairman of a company that paid $250 million in fines to the SEC while losing $335 million in state pension funds.

In response to this pattern of reprehensible campaign contributions, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern issued the following statement:

"Josh Mandel is cashing in from the same Wall Street fat cats whose greed led to the global recession and devastated our families on Main Street," Redfern said. "Josh's donors committed bribery, ravaged pension funds, and engaged in deceptive practices that forced people out of their homes."

Redfern continued, "It really speaks to his judgment as a candidate for Treasurer of Ohio. How can we trust Josh Mandel to make wise financial decisions for our state when he collects campaign cash from crooks like these?"

Josh Mandel’s scandal-ridden supporters include:

Elliot Broidy, who pled guilty to bribery, contributed $13,000 to Mandel. [Ohio Secretary of State, Campaign Finance, Accessed 4/13/10; contributions made on 5/12/09, 10/21/08, 10/31/06 and 10/26/05]

• Pled guilty to paying $1 million in bribes to New York Controller Alan Hevesi in a $250 million public pension fund scheme. [Investment Management Weekly, 12/14/09; Daily News (New York), 12/3/09]
• Frequently contributed to Mandel since allegations were made in 2007. [Daily News (New York), 7/9/07; Ohio Secretary of State, Campaign Finance, Accessed 4/13/10]

  Brian Chisick, Founder and CEO of First Alliance, contributed $1,000 to Mandel. [Ohio Secretary of State, Campaign Finance, Accessed 4/13/10; contribution made 12/30/09]

   

• Chisick is founder and CEO of First Alliance, a company that was sued by eight states and the federal government for deceptive loans, settling for $60 million [Orange County Register (California), 3/22/02; The American Banker, 3/22/02; Federal Trade Commission, 3/21/02]
• Company was found by courts to have engaged in deceptive business practices for home loans [New York Times, 3/15/00]
• Brian Chisick's company paid $420,000 to settle allegations of racial discrimination loan practices [New York Times, 3/15/00]
  

   

• Hertog was in "hot water" over Alliance Capital Management's loss of $335 million in Florida’s state pension funds [Washington Monthly, 3/1/02]
• Company settled with State of New York for $600 million for abusive trade practices and market timing schemes [Money Management Executive, 12/22/03; The Daily Telegraph (London), 12/19/03]
• Company paid $250 million in fines to settle SEC charges of improper trading [Investment News, 6/9/08]
• Company was Enron’s largest shareholder when the infamous company collapsed [Inside Counsel, 2/07]

COLUMBUS – In an email to supporters today, Republican candidate for Treasurer Josh Mandel admitted to what we have been saying for some time – that he is a rookie. He bragged about recently being named "Rookie of the Year." The email reads, "Josh was named legislative 'Rookie of The Year' by the non-partisan Columbus Monthly Magazine."

"Being a rookie is nothing to brag about," said Seth Bringman, Communications Director for the Ohio Democratic Party. "During these difficult times, we can't afford a State Treasurer who is so much of a rookie that the largest budget he has ever managed is his own campaign account. While Treasurer Kevin Boyce is protecting taxpayer dollars, promoting financial literacy and making wise investments in our communities, Josh Mandel is showing more and more that he is not ready to be Ohio's next Treasurer."

Josh Mandel’s comments follow a series of rookie mistakes by his campaign. Last month, Mandel made the wild accusation that the bipartisan State Board of Deposit made a unanimous decision to extend the period during which it could consider contracts for the sole purpose of allowing Treasurer Boyce to raise campaign contributions. Mandel neglected to recognize that Republican Auditor Mary Taylor's office approved the decision to extend the approval process of thousands of pages of contract proposals so that the right financial decisions can be made for our state.

In January, Mandel shamelessly attacked the critical work Treasurer Boyce is doing to count every Ohioan in the U.S. Census. Mandel said that Boyce should ignore the request of the U.S. Census Bureau to appear in PSAs to encourage every Ohioan to be counted.

Further demonstrating his rookie mentality, Mandel has proposed wiping out nearly 40 percent of the state's finances through a radical tax plan that he has co-sponsored in the House of Representatives. According to the non-partisan Legislative Services Commission, the plan would create a $12 billion state budget deficit by 2020, devastating schools, police, fire departments, libraries and other services. Mandel has yet to say how he hopes to manage Ohio's revenue with nearly 40 percent fewer resources. [Legislative Service Commission, Accessed 4/13/10; Columbus Dispatch, 2/8/09; Cleveland Plain Dealer, 4/21/09]

COLUMBUS – Josh Mandel, a Republican candidate for State Treasurer, has once again put his political aspirations ahead of the needs of Ohio communities. Mandel voted against H.B. 462, a capital reappropriations bill which included many of the same projects he voted for just two years earlier. The bill passed the House 79-18, putting Josh Mandel in a minority even within his own Party.

“Josh Mandel voted yesterday to cut funding for local school districts and should be ashamed. Instead of focusing all his attention on his political ambitions, he should do the job he was elected to do. While State Treasurer Kevin Boyce works day in and day out to invest in Ohioans’ future, Josh Mandel lobs silly political attacks and votes against the 21st century school buildings that our communities need,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern.

In 2008, Josh Mandel voted for H.B. 562, the Ohio capital appropriations bill. On March 16, 2010, Mandel voted against the bipartisan H.B. 462 which continues funding for many of the same projects Mandel supported in 2008.

The capital reappropriations bill included critical funding, such as the following:
$94.4 million for school construction and emergency school building assistance;
$74.6 million for the popular voter-initiated Clean Ohio fund;
$3.5 million to support the Ohio School for the Blind; and
$4.3 million to expand “mandown” emergency alert services to the four Ohio correctional institutions without these life-saving services. [Legislative Service Commission]