After 14 Month Refusal To Fully Disclose Staff Resumes, Mandel Spokesman Now Says 33 Of 34 Missing Resumes Came From Shadowy, Defunct Transition Fund
But 9 Of The 33 Were Hired After Mandel Took Office & Some Resumes Dated After Transition Fund Was Terminated
COLUMBUS, OHIO – Just days after refusing to explain how the Treasurer’s office miraculously obtained the resumes of 33 staffers whose resumes were previously “missing,” Josh Mandel now says they were obtained from his shadowy, now-defunct Transition Fund, a fitting excuse, except that a simple look at the resumes themselves proves Mandel is lying through his teeth. Again.
In a letter that accompanied the incredible discovery of 33 additional resumes last week (view HERE), the Treasurer’s office said that the resumes were “voluntarily presented” to the office. But from where?
When first asked that question by The Huffington Post, Mandel’s office “did not return a call for comment.”
When asked again by The Dayton Daily News, Mandel’s spokesman changed his story:
“Unger told the Dayton Daily News all the resumes released last week were from the transition fund, which officially closed March 18, 2011.”
Yet again, Josh Mandel is lying. Nine of the 33 resumes are for staffers who began working at the Treasurer’s office after Josh Mandel took office, and two of the nine are dated to March and April 2011 (Mandel’s shadowy Transition Fund was terminated in March 2011).
Q1: Why would nine employees have submitted resumes to the Transition Fund after Josh Mandel had already taken office? A1: They wouldn’t have.
Q2: How is it possible that employees submitted resumes to the Transition Fund when it had already been terminated? A2: It’s not possible.
“Like he has so many times before, Josh Mandel is lying. A simple look at the resumes proves some were created months after Josh Mandel took office and after his shadowy transition-fund had already been terminated, but that’s not even the main issue with his reluctant release of public records 14 months after we first requested them,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Andrew Zucker. ”After multiple reports that Josh Mandel awarded unqualified political cronies with high-powered jobs at taxpayer expense, his repeated attempts at hiding the resumes and qualifications of the rest of his staff are further proof that he’s a politician who can’t be trusted.”
BACKGROUND
May 3, 2012: Mandel Spokesman Admitted His Office Does Not Have Resumes For 34 Of Its Employees. In May 2012, The Toledo Blade reported “A spokesman for Republican Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel on Wednesday said his office doesn’t have resumes for 34 of its employees, a little over a year after the Democratic Party said it asked for the employee resumes.” [Toledo Blade, 5/3/12]
Mandel’s Press Secretary Admitted Making Hires Prior To Mandel Taking Office. In May 2012, The Toledo Blade wrote “Seth Unger, press secretary for Mr. Mandel, told The Blade Wednesday that the treasurer’s office doesn’t possess the documents that had been requested. ‘We have given the Ohio Democratic Party every resume that they have requested which the Treasurer’s office has in its records. The resumes of individuals who applied, interviewed, and were hired prior to the Treasurer taking office were never brought into office. The Treasurer’s office is unable to produce records that it does not have in its possession,’ Mr. Unger said in an email to The Blade.” [Toledo Blade, 5/3/12]
The Josh Mandel Transition Fund Was Terminated On March 18, 2011. [Ohio Secretary of State]
After Nine Public Records Requests, Treasurer’s Office Said Missing Resumes Of Mandel Staffers Were “Voluntarily Presented” To The Treasurer’s Office On June 12, 2012 . In a June 15th response to the 9th public records request made by the Ohio Democratic Party for missing resumes of Mandel hires, General Counsel Seth Metcalf wrote “On June 12, 2012, the resumes of individuals that accepted offers of employment prior to January 10, 2011 were voluntarily presented to the office of the Treasurer of State. Since such resumes are now within the possession of the office of the Treasurer of State, these resumes became ‘public records’ on June 12, 2012, and are therefore currently available for production, and thus appear on the enclosed CD.” [TOS Response To Records Request, 6/15/12]
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Paid for by the Ohio Democratic Party, Chris Redfern, Chairman