Saying it’s time to hand power back to the people, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel endorsed a constitutional amendment today that would limit U.S. senators to two terms — which would apply to himself, if he’s elected.

In signing the 12-year pledge, Mandel a Republican, took several shots at Sen. Sherrod Brown, whom Mandel is again challenging in the 2018 election. Mandel said Brown, a Democrat, pledged to serve only 12 years when he was elected to Congress 25 years ago and then went back on that promise.

“He went to Washington to do good, but he stayed to do well,” Mandel said, accusing Brown of attending cocktail parties with and taking campaign contributions from “coastal elites” from places like Massachusetts and San Francisco.

Over his time in office, Brown has lost touch with the people of Ohio, Mandel said.

“It started when he broke his pledge,” Mandel said.

Mandel made an earlier term-limits pledge when he ran unsuccessfully against Brown in 2012.

Ohio Democrats on Monday said that when Mandel ran in 2012, he broke a pledge of his own: by seeking higher office after pledging 2010 to serve a full term as treasurer.

"It's laughable that Josh Mandel, a politician who's run for office seven times in the last 14 years and broke his promise to serve a full term as treasurer, has the audacity to think Ohioans will buy his term limits pledge," Brown campaign communications director Preston Maddock said in an email.

"Today's gimmick was simply a distraction from the embarrassing, unrelenting press Josh has received in recent weeks as Governor Kasich and Republicans in the legislature have called him out for his shameless campaign tactics and abuse of taxpayers' money in the treasurer's office."

Asked whether he made the 2010 pledge, Mandel said, “I don’t recall.” He then listed accomplishments as treasurer and pointed to the fact that he was re-elected in 2014.

“Obviously, the voters liked what they saw,” Mandel said.

Mandel said term limits are a way to “transfer power from politicians to the people.”

Asked if limits wouldn’t take away people’s power to vote for 12-year incumbents, Mandel said incumbents have unfair advantages. For example, members of Congress have franking privileges that allow them to send mail to constituents at taxpayer expense, he said.

Nick Tomboulides, executive director of the advocacy group U.S. Term Limits who was at the press conference, said that term limits have consistently been popular with voters and it’s time for Congress to heed them.

mschladen@dispatch.com

@martyschladen