Josh Mandel hires 2 campaign staffers for state office

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Just weeks after losing a campaign for the U.S. Senate, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel has rehired two workers from his political campaign into his taxpayer-funded state office.

The two staffers collectively make $152,500 annually, according to a Dayton Daily News repor t.

Joe Aquilino, who had been the campaign’s political director, was hired as the deputy legal counsel and director of regional representatives for the Treasurer’s Office. The job pays $90,000 annually.

Also hired was Jared Borg, who was the campaign’s video tracker. Borg’s new job is deputy director of regional representatives, which pays $62,500 per year.

Borg’s job in the senate campaign was to follow U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, Mandel’s Democratic opponent, and take video footage that might later be used in TV commercials.

Brown won re-election in November, getting 50 percent of the vote compared to 45 percent for Mandel.

During the Senate campaign, Brown released a scathing TV ad against Mandel for hiring six campaign workers in the Treasurer’s Office . The staffers’ average age was 26.

One of the workers was Aquilino, a longtime friend who served as debt management director in the Treasurer's Office and was sent to a beginner's class in the subject after his hiring.

During Mandel’s 2010 campaign for state treasurer, he criticized Democratic incumbent Kevin Boyce for making political appointments and vowed he wouldn’t do so if elected.

“Unlike the current officeholder, I will ensure that my staff is comprised of qualified financial professionals — rather than political cronies and friends — and that investment decisions are based on what is best for Ohioans,” Mandel said in October 2010.