Democrats have taken to the web to satirize Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, the Republican nominee for Senate against Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, and several of his top aides as the debate over Mandel's hiring practices continues.
The new three-a-half-minute web ad, obtained exclusively by The Huffington Post and shown below, has fake Facebook postings between Mandel and several of the aides currently embroiled in the debate over how Mandel hired top staffers in the treasurer's office. The Ohio Democratic Party is behind the web ad.
In the last week, it was reported that Mandel, 34, hired aides who were either tied to his political organization or personal friends. Mandel also reportedly dispatched one top aide to a beginner's course on the subject he was overseeing.
Democrats yesterday filed their seventh request for the resumes of 60 Mandel appointees.
"After campaigning furiously against cronyism during his last campaign and promising to change course, Josh Mandel broke his pledge to Ohioans and awarded top jobs and massive taxpayer funded raises to political cronies, many who lacked the basic qualifications to do their jobs," state Democratic Party spokesman Andrew Zucker said in a statement. "That Josh Mandel surrounded himself with political cronies after repeatedly slamming his predecessor for alleged cronyism is the clearest indication yet that he''s not doing his job on behalf of taxpayers and cannot be trusted."
The ad follows Facebook postings from Mandel and several aides, including general counsel Seth Metcalf, a college friend of Mandel's; Joe Aquilino, a campaign aide who spent 2011 as his debt management director; and Scott Guthrie, who was public affairs director in the treasurer's office for five weeks before returning to his post raising funds for Mandel's political organization. The satirical postings include Mandel offering jobs and raises to the group, and references to Mandel's skipping 14 months of meetings of the state Board of Deposit, which he chairs.
The video also includes comments from Mandel during the 2010 campaign, where he railed against what he called cronyism in the administration of former Treasurer Kevin Boyce (D).
Mandel's campaign spokesman, Travis Considine, declined to comment on the ad, referring the question to the treasurer's office spokesman for Mandel, Seth Unger. Unger was not available for immediate comment. Considine has routinely referred all questions on the hiring practices coverage to Unger.