Lee Irwin Fisher (born August 7, 1951) is an American attorney, politician, and academic. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he served as the 64th

lieutenant governor of Ohio The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed by impeachment. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve a ...

, with Governor

Ted Strickland Theodore Strickland (born August 4, 1941) is an American politician who was the 68th governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ...

, from 2007 until 2011. He serves as the Dean of

Cleveland–Marshall College of Law Cleveland State University College of Law is the law school of Cleveland State University, a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. The school traces its origins to Cleveland Law School (founded in 1897), which merged in 1946 with the Jo ...

at Cleveland State University.

Early life and education

Fisher graduated from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

in 1973 and earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

Case Western Reserve University School of Law Case Western Reserve University School of Law is one of eight schools at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the first schools accredited by the American Bar Association. It is a member of the Association of American ...

in 1976. He graduated from the

Weatherhead School of Management The Weatherhead School of Management is a private business school of Case Western Reserve University located in Cleveland, Ohio. Weatherhead offers programs concentrated in sustainability, design innovation, healthcare, organizational behavior, gl ...

Professional Fellows Program in 1996. In 2004, he received his master's degree in nonprofit organization from the Case Western Reserve University Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations.

Career

After graduation from law school, he was a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for Judge Paul C. Weick of the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of ...

(1976–1977). In 1978, he joined the Cleveland law firm of Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP, and was an instructor in Legal Research, Writing, and Advocacy at Cleveland State University Cleveland-Marshall College of Law during the 1978 school year. During his 10 years in the state legislature, he continued to serve as of counsel to the law firm (1978–1990). He rejoined Hahn Loeser & Parks as a partner in 1995 and served as a partner until he was selected CEO of the Center for Families and Children in 1999.

Ohio House of Representatives

At the age of 29, Fisher was elected to the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

in 1980. He served as a state representative for two years before being elected to the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

in 1982. He was named " Outstanding Freshman Legislator" by Columbus Monthly magazine in 1982. He served as a state senator for eight years. In 1983 he was named a Chase Public Leadership Fellow and attended the Harvard Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.

Attorney general

Fisher was elected

Attorney General of Ohio The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio Attorney General is Republican Dave Yost. History The office of the attor ...

in 1990, defeating

Paul Pfeifer Paul E. Pfeifer (born October 15, 1942) is an American jurist. He served in both houses of the Ohio General Assembly as a member of the Ohio Republican party and was most recently an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio. Pfeifer wa ...

in the only statewide election in Ohio history to trigger a statewide recount. In 1992, Fisher was elected a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

for Ohio. Fisher served as attorney general from 1991 to 1995, narrowly losing his bid for re-election in 1994 to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Betty Montgomery.

Lieutenant governor

Joining the ticket of Democratic gubernatorial candidate

, Fisher was elected lieutenant governor in 2006. The Ohio gubernatorial campaign was captured in the 2008 documentary film ''Swing State'', which was directed by (his son) Jason Zone-Fisher, John Intrater, and H. Spencer Young.

2010 U.S. Senate campaign

In February 2009, Fisher announced his campaign to replace

George Voinovich George Victor Voinovich (July 15, 1936June 12, 2016) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Ohio from 1999 to 2011, the 65th governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998 and the 54th mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989, th ...

in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. On May 4, 2010, Fisher won the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, defeating Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.Naymik, Mark
Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher raises another $550,000 for Senate campaign, starts spending it on commercials.
''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

.'' April 14, 2010. In the general election on November 2, 2010, Fisher faced the Republican nominee,

Rob Portman Robert Jones Portman (born December 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Ohio since 2011. A member of the Republican Party ...

, a former Cincinnati congressman and Bush administration official. Portman received 57% of the votes to Fisher's 39%. Fisher carried only six of Ohio's 88 counties and three of 18 congressional districts.

Other work

In 1998, Fisher ran for governor but lost to Republican

Bob Taft Robert Alphonso Taft III (born January 8, 1942) is an American politician and attorney, who served as the 67th governor of Ohio from 1999 to 2007 as a member of the Republican Party. A member of the Taft political dynasty, Taft served first i ...

, 50%–45%, in the closest gubernatorial election in 28 years. He has served on two public company boards: Rex Stores (now

Rex American Resources REX American Resources Corp. (REX; ) is an American producer and retailer of ethanol, distillers grains and natural gas as well as a holding company in energy entities. It was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is ...

) and

Office Max OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. It is now a subsidiary of The ODP Corporation, which is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. As of December 2012, OfficeMax operated 941 stores in 47 states, Puerto Rico, the U. ...

(before it was sold to

Boise Cascade Boise Cascade Company (), which uses the trade name Boise Cascade, is a North American manufacturer of wood products and wholesale distributor of building materials, headquartered in Boise, Idaho. with sales over $7.9 billion in 2021, it is trad ...

Cleveland–Marshall College of Law

In 2016, Fisher was appointed Interim Dean of Cleveland State University's Cleveland–Marshall College of Law for the 2016–17 academic year. On May 3, 2017, Fisher was named permanent Dean after a national search. His selection was somewhat unconventional as the search committee opted for someone without a history in academia. During his time as Dean, Fisher has focused on a number of initiatives. These have included a focus on leadership in the law, establishing the Cleveland-Marshall Hall of Fame, increased fundraising, and raising the school's national profile. Beginning in the fall of 2018, Fisher began teaching a course on leadership. That same year, the CM-Law P. Kelly Tompkins Leadership and Law Program was established. Named after P. Kelly Tompkins, a benefactor and 1981 graduate, the program places an emphasis on leadership as a necessary component of law. In the fall of 2017, Fisher led the effort in establishing the Cleveland-Marshall Hall of Fame. The now-annual fundraiser honors members of the CM-Law community who have had a positive impact on the school either through their reputation or as benefactors. Honorees include Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice

Maureen O'Connor Maureen O'Connor (born August 7, 1951) is an American lawyer and judge serving as the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. She was elected to the court in 2002, becoming chief justice in 2010. Prior to this, O'Connor served as an associate ...

, Congresswoman

Marcia Fudge Marcia Louise Fudge (born October 29, 1952) is an American attorney and politician serving as the 18th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, United States secretary of housing and urban development since 2021. A member of the D ...

, and former Cleveland Mayor Carl B. Stokes among others. In addition to notable alum, the CM-Law Hall of Fame also highlights those who have been benefactors that have not graduated from the school including federal Judge

Dan Polster Daniel Aaron Polster (born December 6, 1951) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Polster mediated a settlement between the city of Cleveland and the family of Tamir Ric ...

and Judy and Robert H. Rawson, Jr.

Personal life

He is married to Peggy Zone Fisher, the president and CEO of the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio. He has two adult children.

Electoral history

Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2006, James Lundeen received 579 votes and Larry Bays received 73 votes.

References

External links

Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher
''official government site''
Lee Fisher for U.S. Senate
''official campaign site'' *
1996, 1998 campaign contributions
at the National Institute for Money in State Politics (Attorney General, Governor)
2010 campaign contributions
at OpenSecrets.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Lee 1951 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians 1992 United States presidential electors American university and college faculty deans Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Case Western Reserve University School of Law alumni Cleveland State University people Deans of law schools in the United States Lieutenant Governors of Ohio Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Oberlin College alumni Ohio Attorneys General Democratic Party Ohio state senators Politicians from Ann Arbor, Michigan Politicians from Shaker Heights, Ohio State cabinet secretaries of Ohio