Josh Mandel hopes his 'baby face' is the new face of Washington, D.C.

CLEVELAND - Josh Mandel is used to people kidding him that he looks like a kid, but believes his "baby face" should be the new face in the U.S. Senate.

During an interview before his 35th birthday, Mandel said, "I try to keep my goals simple. By the time I turn 35, I just hope to be shaving."

Mandel comes from a Cleveland family and served as a Lyndhurst councilman, as well as a state representative, before getting elected to his current job, Treasurer of the State of Ohio.

"We have a vested interest in turning Northeast Ohio, the state of Ohio, and frankly our country, in a better direction," Mandel said.

Mandel enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 2000 and served two tours in Iraq.

He said military service doesn't uniquely qualify him for public service, but feels his time as a marine taught him important qualities such as focus and discipline.

"The Marine Corps also instilled in me a heightened sense of integrity and bearing. That sense of integrity has really guided me as a husband, as a citizen and as a public servant," Mandel said.

Mandel's number one campaign issue is jobs, and he recently reiterated the importance of job creation during a visit to Equipment Merchants International, a Cleveland manufacturing company.

Mandel, a Republican, said he wants more of a focus on shale, gas and oil exploration, along with affordable energy solutions.

"If manufacturing companies are paying less in utility bills, it means they'll have more money to hire blue collar men and women to actually work machines and put product out the door," Mandel said.

Outside of work, Mandel said he loves taking long walks with his wife, Ilana.

"I proposed to her right here in the Cleveland area on the rocks of Lake Erie by Whiskey Island," Mandel said.

Mandel's website indicates that Mandel has "earned the highest possible rating from Standard & Poor's for the $4 billion government investment fund he manages, and the highest possible rating from Fitch for the state's short-term General Obligation bonds."