U.S. Senate hopeful Mandel opens divorce file
Ohio Republican Josh Mandel and his ex-wife opened their previously sealed 2020 divorce file to reporters across the state as he kicks off his third campaign for U.S. Senate.
The documents paint a picture of an amicable split after 12 years of marriage and three children. The records also detail a couple whose assets are well above the typical Ohioans in their mid-40s.
Josh Mandel, who served eight years as state treasurer, will keep about $827,000 in cash and investments while Ilana Mandel will hold on to investments and real estate worth about $2.8 million, the records show.
The Mandels have already socked away $515,000 in college savings accounts for their three young children, ages 8, 6 and 4. They have no mortgages on the $850,000 house in Beachwood, east of Cleveland, that goes to Ilana or the $100,000 house in Lyndhurst, another suburb east of Cleveland, that goes to Josh.
The couple married in Jerusalem on Aug. 28, 2008.
Josh Mandel abruptly withdrew from an expected rematch against Democrat Sherrod Brown in the 2018 U.S. Senate race, saying his wife’s health issues required his attention and presence. The couple separated in early 2020 and filed for dissolution in April 2020.
“I look forward to doing whatever I can to help elect Josh to the U.S. Senate. He and I remain close friends and committed parents to our three children. A few years ago Josh sacrificed a career opportunity when our family needed him to be home with us full time. I’m happy that he once again has a chance to serve and I fully support him,” Ilana Mandel said in a written statement released by the campaign.
The pair was granted a motion by Ashland County Common Pleas Court Judge Ronald P. Forsthoefel to seal most of the records from public view. Neither lives in Ashland County.
Josh Mandel made Brown’s 1986 divorce an issue in the 2012 senate campaign. The
Cincinnati Enquirer filed a lawsuit to try to unseal the Mandel divorce file.
This week, the couple, through the campaign, invited political reporters to review the records. Josh Mandel campaign spokesman Scott Guthrie said the pair “decided to be pro-actively transparent and show that they have nothing to hide and are very proud about how they’re raising their kids as a lifelong team.”
The documents also disclose that Josh Mandel works for Boxbees Technologies Inc., and owns nearly 247,000 shares worth about $19,000 in Compound Asset Management Inc., a tech start-up that has been acquired. Boxbees focuses on cardboard box recycling solutions.
Josh Mandel, 43, is running in the 2022 Republican primary for U.S. Senate against former Ohio GOP chair Jane Timken. Other Republicans may also join the fray. It’ll mark Mandel’s fifth statewide run in 12 years. Josh Mandel served as a state lawmaker and two terms as Ohio treasurer.