Mandel referred to Ohio’s decision to allow trans people to have affirming documents as “outrageous.” “Shame on you,” he said in a tweet directed at Republican Governor Mike DeWine.
Mandel’s anti-LGBTQ+ record goes far beyond comments on Twitter and at local school boards. During his first bid for Senate in 2012, his own family members reportedly placed an ad in the Cleveland Jewish News denouncing his anti-LGBTQ+ positions, including his opposition to same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ inclusion in the military.
“This family is sprawling and diverse, but it has always believed strongly in the values of equality and inclusiveness,” his cousins wrote in an open letter. “Your discriminatory stance violates these core values of our family.”
Mandel, who served as Ohio Treasurer for eight years, is also staunchly opposed to allowing refugees to settle in the U.S. and claimed that Afghan asylum seekers fleeing violence would bring “COVID” and “child brides.” On his 2022 campaign website, he describes himself as “pro-God,” “pro-gun,” and “pro-Trump” and says that he is committed to “taking on the radical left” and “fighting against CRT, wokeism, and cancel culture.”
But while Mandel may be a troubling case, he is only the most recent example of conservatives using school board meetings to oppose trans inclusion. Loudoun County, Virginia became the epicenter of a conservative firestorm during Pride Month, with hundreds of protesters gathering to demonstrate against trans-affirming policies and “critical race theory.”
Although Loudoun County did end up implementing those policies, they have been loosely applied. A recent court ruling forced the Loudoun County School Board to reinstate a teacher who vocally opposed the trans-inclusive guidelines.
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