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Dem challenger questions Ohio treasurer's dedication to job
COLUMBIANA
Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel’s Democratic opponent, state Rep. Connie Pillich, questions the Republican incumbent’s dedication to the job.
“You need someone who is committed to the office and uses it to its fullest potential to help the state, and Mr. Mandel hasn’t” done so, Pillich, of Montgomery, D-28th, said Thursday in an interview with The Vindicator. “He’s been focused elsewhere. I think everyone knows that.”
Pillich, in the area for various campaign stops, was referring to Mandel’s failed 2012 bid for U.S. Senate, a job for which he campaigned shortly after taking office in January 2011 as treasurer.
Mandel, of Beachwood, said he is committed to the treasurer’s office, touting the success of investment programs during his three-plus years in the job.
On Thursday, Mandel visited Humtown Products, a Columbiana manufacturing business — and part of a consortium with America Makes, the Youngstown Business Incubator and Youngstown State University’s Center for Innovation in Additive Manufacturing — to use 3-D printing to grow its operations.
During his visit, Mandel repeated a theme he’s used for the past two years that high schools should offer shop classes and teach trades to students rather than focus on having kids go to college to obtain liberal-arts degrees.
Less than 10 percent of Humtown’s 42 employees have college degrees, said Brandon Lamoncha, the company’s sales manager.
Mandel, who has a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University and a law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, said college isn’t for everyone, and about half of college graduates are in jobs that don’t require bachelor degrees.
“A two-year technical degree would be better for those wanting good-paying jobs,” Mandel said. “Too many guidance counselors tell kids the only way to be successful is to get four-year degrees.”
Mandel, who’s running statewide for the third time since 2010, said what he’s learned the most while campaigning is that “people have a concern that federal, state and local governments are not transparent enough. When people don’t think government officials are transparent enough, they lose trust in them.”
Mandel said he’s strongly supporting a bill to “post the state checkbook online so everyone would have access to see every check in state government being written.”
But the law hasn’t gotten too far, Mandel said, because of opposition from both Republicans and Democrats.
“I might be fighting people in my own party, and that’s OK,” he said.
Mandel took on Gov. John Kasich, a fellow Republican, twice last year on two major policy issues. Kasich wanted to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, which he did through the State Controlling Board; and increase the tax on gross receipts of fracking to 4 percent, which hasn’t been considered, and a reduced proposal appears to have stalled.
“I have friendly disagreements with the governor,” Mandel said. “It’s healthy for people in the same political party to have friendly disagreements. I have a ton of respect for the governor, but respectfully disagree with him on some issues.”
Pillich said agrees with Kasich’s decision to expand Medicaid and also wants to increase the severance tax for fracking, finding Kasich’s 4-percent proposal “very intriguing.” She points out that the tax is much higher in states such as Oklahoma and Texas.
In response to Mandel’s “friendly disagreement” statement, Pillich said, “These are significant policy issues. I talked to various people about Medicaid expansion and I learned it is universally supported by everyone but the tea party. That’s a huge policy difference between me” and Mandel.
Pillich, serving her third term in the Ohio House who practiced law for 13 years with banking law as a specialty, represents a Republican district in suburban Cincinnati. She touted her bipartisanship saying 76 percent of the bills she’s proposed had Republican cosponsors.