For three BHS alumni, election night 2014 was one to remember.

Armond Budish, Class of 1971, Francine Goldberg, Class of 1982, and Josh Mandel, Class of 1996, all succeeded in their bid for election or reelection to public office.

“[The teachers at BHS instilled in me the belief that] if you were determined, if you were tenacious, you could accomplish anything,” Goldberg said.

Budish, a Democrat, beat Republican Cuyahoga County Councilman Jack Schron in the race for Cuyahoga County executive. Budish continues to reside in Beachwood.

Budish is the outgoing state representative for District 8, which includes Beachwood. He is also a partner at Budish, Solomon, Steiner & Peck, Ltd., Attorneys at Law. He practices elder law, estate planning, special needs planning and Medicaid planning, according to the firm’s website.

Goldberg, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Republican Janet Rath Colaluca, allowing her to serve as the next Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations judge.

A University Heights councilwoman at-large from 2002 to 2013 and the City’s appointed vice mayor from 2010 to 2013, Goldberg was an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor for 23 years.

While attending The Ohio State University, she worked for then-State Senator Lee Fisher.

After studying abroad her junior year of college at the Hebrew Academy of Jerusalem in Israel, she graduated from OSU and later received a degree from Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Mandel, a Republican, retained his seat as state treasurer of Ohio, overcoming State Rep. Connie Pillich, a Cincinnati-area Democrat. Mandel has held this post since 2011 and continues to reside in Beachwood.

According to his office’s website, Mandel is a Marine Corps veteran who served two tours in Iraq. From 2004 to 2006, he was a Lyndhurst city councilman, going on to serve as a state representative from 2007 to 2010.

In 2012, Mandel, a former Beachcomber staff writer, made an unsuccessful bid for the United States Senate against incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown.

Two of the mentioned alumni are members of the BHS Gallery of Success: Budish, inducted in 1991, and Goldberg, inducted in 2009.

Budish is recognized in the Gallery for his “legal expertise and creative talents in writing a widely acclaimed book and award-winning consumer law columns in newspapers and magazines that have helped millions of readers protect their assets and themselves.”

Goldberg is acknowledged for her “service to Northeast Ohio as a law enforcement officer prosecuting criminal offenders, educating youth on the dangers of Internet predators, [and] protecting seniors from abuse and exploitation,” amongst other accomplishments.

Doug Levin, director of marketing and communications for the Beachwood City Schools, said he doesn’t think Mandel has ever been nominated for induction.

Budish, who served as Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2009 to 2011, began his education in the South Euclid-Lyndhurst School District.

However, in the seventh grade, his family moved to Beachwood, where they remained until halfway through his senior year of high school.

He said his father’s career, at that point, brought the family to Bethesda, Maryland.

Budish, who was president of BHS student council, explained that he continues to remain friends with many of his former classmates.

“Probably [what’s most surprising about my high school experience is] that I did play football, looking at me now.”

He played in the junior varsity team, positioned as a “monsterback” on defense and a fullback on offense.

Budish said he appreciates the time he had at BHS.

“I learned a lot through the teachers and the classes and I learned a lot through my extracurriculars,” he said. “In particular, I would say, the student government.”

In fact, he said his only regret from BHS is that he had to leave prior to graduation.

“It was unfortunate that my family moved in my senior year of high school, because I was having a great time,” Budish said. “[We] moved to somewhere where I knew nobody.”

Now Budish chooses to call Beachwood his home.

“Beachwood’s a great city,” he said.

“Beachwood has been a great place to raise a family,” said Budish, whose two sons graduated from BHS. “I think they both had an excellent education there.”

As Budish looks ahead to lead Ohio’s most populated county, he says his primary focus will be on “jobs and job creation.”

“I need to make sure we are helping every part of our community, our region, grow and prosper,” he said.

He also explained how he was pleased with what he accomplished in the Ohio House.

“We were able to do quite a bit for Northeast Ohio,” he said, citing legislation that cleared the path for the Global Center for Health Innovation, formerly known as the Cleveland Medical Mart, in addition to obtaining funding for the Flats East Bank project.

Goldberg said she was a student council class representative, National Honor Society member and lettered in cross country.

She played the violin for twelve years, participating in the BMS and BHS orchestras. She was also heavily involved with the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, now known as BBYO, a youth movement for Jewish students in eighth to 12th grades.

Goldberg said she looks back fondly on her time at BHS.

“I really enjoyed high school,” she said. “It provided a lot of opportunities.”

Goldberg added that her political success can be traced back to the role models she found in teachers at BHS.

They “set high standards,” she said, adding that the influence of her teachers has left a lasting impact on her.

Growing up in Beachwood was a treat, she said. She was brought up in “just a really friendly neighborhood,” adding that she, much like Budish, still maintains friendships with many of those in her graduating class.

“Those relationships that I established from Fairmount Elementary all the way through high school — it’s wonderful.”

While Goldberg is reminiscent of her time at BHS, she also looks ahead to the responsibilities she will soon possess once sworn in as the county’s next domestic relations judge.

“I hope to make a difference in the day-to-day lives of families,” she said.

She explained she wants to “ensure that fair, compassionate and balanced judgments will have a long-term impact on the families before this court.”

Goldberg said she also hopes to make the court more “family-friendly,” by providing “alternative times to working families.”

Another goal, she mentioned, is to offer individuals who are concerned about domestic violence an opportunity to “secure a protection order during hours when the courthouse is normally closed.”

The Beachcomber made repeated attempts to get in contact with Mandel. However, he was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

Those with whom he interacted during his teenage years recall him favorably.

Carole Katz, now the district’s K-12 math coordinator and an Advanced Placement math teacher at BHS, taught Mandel in his sophomore and junior years of high school. Katz said she was also in the same third grade class as Budish.

Mandel, who was the BHS student council vice president and quarterback of the football team, was a leader amongst his peers, Katz said.

“He was a good role model,” she said. “A sharp kid,” with a lot of energy, she remembered.

She said she has “no doubt” Mandel is able to handle the responsibilities of the treasurer’s office, as he had a “fine ability to work with numbers, [along with] a lot of insight.”

Mandel, who would go on to be the undergraduate student body president at OSU, “was always in a good mood,” she said.

Spanish teacher John Summers was Mandel’s baseball coach at BMS.

Mandel was a pitcher — a good one at that, Summers said.

He always worked quickly, Summers noted. “He played hard. He was a competitor.”

Summers also knows Mandel’s mother and father, and coached Mandel’s younger sister in BMS and BHS basketball.

“I always thought [Mandel] was a good kid. He was a nice guy,” Summers said.

For students interested in entering politics or public service, Budish and Goldberg had words of guidance.

“I would encourage them,” Budish said.

Goldberg agreed.

“It’s so important to get engaged in your community,” she said. “Even if it’s a small issue.”

“[Public service] has never been a job for me. It’s a mission to really make a difference [and] make an impact on our community,” Goldberg said.

“Government service is a great way to improve the lives of people throughout our region,” Budish said. “We need good people getting involved.”