Josh Mandel is pushing for energy development and more jobs in Ohio.

Excerpt:

Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, was in Tuscarawas County this week touting the potential benefits the oil and gas industry could bring to Ohio, including the possibility of 200,000 additional jobs.

Mandel is stepping into the debate over whether Ohio’s federal lands should be used for oil and gas exploration.

“I believe responsible exploration for oil and gas will be a win-win-win for families and senior citizens in Tuscarawas County,” Mandel told The Times-Reporter during a telephone interview Monday, hours before he held a meet-and-greet in Bolivar.

“It will create jobs, bring down utility bills, and it will contribute to the national security of our country. With more energy produced here in America, we will be safer as a nation.”

Mandel, a Republican from Lyndhurst, near Cleveland, is running for the seat in the Senate held by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Avon.

[…]The oil and gas boom in eastern Ohio will benefit not only the men and women working on the rigs, but also construction workers, truck drivers and service industry employees, Mandel contends. He said it will help waiters and waitresses, who will serve more customers, owners of hotels and motels and people who own businesses up and down the supplier’s chain.

But Mandel says he does see a threat to the industry.

“There are bureaucrats in Washington and in the state who are trying to block responsible oil and gas exploration,” Mandel said. “I will do everything in my power to combat the Washington bureaucrats who are trying to block new jobs and affordable energy in Ohio.”

[…]Mandel served two terms in the Ohio House of Representatives before ousting incumbent state Treasurer Kevin Boyce in 2010. He is a Marine Corps veteran who served two tours of duty in Anbar Province, Iraq.

Josh has a stellar record to run on.

Excerpt:

Amidst this week’s news of of Fitch downgrading the United States’ outlook from stable to negative, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel has announced that Fitch has given the highest possible short term rating of F1+ for Ohio’s general obligation (GO) bonds.  Fitch credited Treasurer Mandel’s conservative investment strategy and cautious management of our tax dollars as key factors in making their rating determination:

“The rating reflects the strength of the state’s general obligation credit, the ample liquidity provided by investments in the state treasurer’s liquidity account, and the procedures in place to insure timely payment of optional tenders of bonds that have not been remarketed.”

They also noted:

“The investment profile is conservative as the fund is invested in U.S. Treasury and agency securities, highly rated commercial paper, and money market funds.”

Amidst a struggling economy and sluggish national growth, Fitch spoke of notable increases in the state treasurer’s liquidity account, as well as the state’s bolstering of its rainy day fund.

Fitch also noted Ohio’s improved budget stabilization fund balance in their rating. Ohio’s budget stabilization fund reached a low point in 2009 under previous administrations when the fund had been depleted down to just $0.89. In July, Ohio’s AA+ credit rating outlook was raised by Standard & Poor’s from “negative” to “stable,” in part because of conservative management of debt in the Treasurer’s office.

Since being elected, Treasurer Mandel has focused on reining in state budget costs by streamlining operations, eliminating waste, and serving as a steadfast fiscal watchdog for Ohio taxpayers’ hard-earned money.

The Republican-led General Assembly and Governor Kasich tackled Ohio’s $8 billion budget shortfall and spending imbalances head on, thus improving our state’s credit ratings.

Josh is going to be running for the Senate seat current occupied by left-wing radical Sherrod Brown in 2012.