Protesters decry Mandel’s vote on discrimination bill

About a dozen protesters carried signs Tuesday morning alongside the driveway to Beechmont Country Club in Orange Village, lambasting state Rep. Josh Mandel for failing to support equality in employment and housing for gays.

Inside the club, Mandel, a Republican from Lyndhurst, was appearing at a fundraiser for his race for Ohio treasurer. In November, he will face Democratic incumbent Kevin Boyce.

Late last year, Mandel voted against House Bill 176, the Equal Housing and Employment Act, which would protect people from being fired from their job, passed over for employment, or denied an apartment or house because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill passed the House but has not yet cleared the Ohio Senate.

To date, 21 states have legislation on the books with this protection.

Earlier in 2009, Mandel told LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) advocates that he supported the bill, according to Sue Doerfer, a Cleveland resident and LGBT activist. Mandel did not respond to a CJN request for comment on his stance on the issue or on his vote on the legislation.

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Tuesday’s protest was organized by Equality Ohio, a Columbus-based LGBT advocacy group, at the request of individuals from the Beachwood and Pepper Pike areas, says Doerfer, the group’s executive director.

Protesters carried signs with such slogans as “Josh supports firing gays,” “Josh Mandel: $ trumps values” and “Josh voted against us.”

When the CJN asked Mandel his views on gay rights, abortion and school prayer during an interview before the 2008 election, he did not respond directly to the question...

As undergraduate student body president of The Ohio State University, Mandel supported benefits for domestic partners, both straight and gay unmarried couples, according to an April 2000 article in The Lantern, OSU’s student newspaper. “Students want it, students deserve it, and the university has a responsibility to provide it,” The Lantern quotes him as saying.’

Doerfer said she is disappointed with Mandel’s position. “He was a supporter of LGBT rights, he campaigned on the issue, he took money from the community, he promised a yes vote on equal housing and employment, but when it came to a vote, he voted no,” she says.

While HB 176 passed the Ohio House in December, Republican Bill Harris, Ohio Senate president, has not moved the bill to committee for hearings..

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