Lee Fisher

Lee Fisher
64th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
In office
January 8, 2007 – January 10, 2011
Governor Ted Strickland
Preceded by Bruce Johnson
Succeeded by Mary Taylor
44th Attorney General of Ohio
In office
January 14, 1991 – January 9, 1995
Governor George Voinovich
Preceded by Tony Celebrezze
Succeeded by Betty Montgomery
Member of the Ohio Senate
from the 25th district
In office
January 3, 1983 – December 31, 1990
Preceded by Paul Matia
Succeeded by Eric Fingerhut
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
from the 16th district
In office
January 3, 1981 – December 31, 1982
Preceded by Harry Lehman
Succeeded by Judy Sheerer
Personal details
Born (1951-08-07) August 7, 1951
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Peggy Zone
Alma mater Oberlin College
Case Western Reserve University

Lee Fisher (born August 7, 1951) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 64th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, with Governor Ted Strickland, from 2007 until 2011.

Before his election as Lieutenant Governor, Fisher served as a member of the Ohio General Assembly, first in the Ohio House of Representatives (1981–1982) and then in the Ohio Senate (1982–1990). He was Attorney General of Ohio from 1991 to 1995 and the Democratic nominee for Governor of Ohio in 1998, losing to Republican Bob Taft.

From 1999 to 2006, he served as President and CEO of the Center for Families and Children (CFC) in Cleveland. CFC is a $20 million human services nonprofit with over 300 staff. In addition, he has also served as the Director of the Ohio Department of Development and Chair of both the Ohio Third Frontier Commission and the Clean Ohio Council. In 2001 he graduated from the Center for Creative Leadership's "Leadership at the Peak" program. In January 2006, then-Congressman Ted Strickland asked Fisher to be his running mate in the 2006 gubernatorial election. Fisher left CFC on March 1, 2006 to run with Strickland. The two were elected.

Fisher did not run for re-election in 2010, instead running for the U.S. Senate. He won the Democratic primary for the seat held by the retiring Republican George Voinovich, losing to Republican nominee Rob Portman.

In 2016, Fisher was appointed Interim Dean of Cleveland State University’s Cleveland–Marshall College of Law for the 2016-17 academic year.

Life and career

Fisher graduated from Oberlin College in 1973 (later serving on the board of trustees for 12 years) and Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1976 (later receiving the first Distinguished Recent Graduate Award in 1984, and inducted into the Law School's Society of Benchers in 2009). He graduated from the Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management's 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.

After graduation from law school, he was a law clerk for Judge Paul C. Weick of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (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 Loser & 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.

At the age of 39, Fisher was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1981. He served as a state representative for two years before being elected to the Ohio Senate 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.

Fisher was elected Attorney General of Ohio in 1990, defeating Paul Pfeifer in the only statewide election in Ohio history to trigger a statewide recount.[1] In 1992, Fisher was elected a presidential elector for Ohio. Fisher served as Attorney General from 1991 to 1995, narrowly losing his bid for re-election in 1994 to Republican Betty Montgomery.

In 1998, Fisher ran for Governor but lost to Republican Bob Taft, 50%–45%, in the closest gubernatorial election in 28 years.

Joining the ticket of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland, Fisher was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2006.[2] The Ohio gubernatorial campaign was captured in the documentary film Swing State, which was directed by (his son) Jason Zone-Fisher, John Intrater, and H. Spencer Young.

He has served on two public company boards: Rex Stores (now Rex American Resources) and Office Max (before it was sold to Boise Cascade).

He was a finalist for the position of Dean at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University; however Craig M. Boise was selected to begin his term on July 1, 2011. Fisher was announced as Interim Dean of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, replacing Boise, on May 19, 2016.

He is married to Peggy Zone Fisher, President/CEO of the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio. He has two adult children, Jason and Jessica, and many nieces and nephews.

He was also announced to be the new CEO and President of CEOs for Cities in May 2011.[3]

2010 U.S. Senate campaign

In February 2009, Fisher announced his campaign to replace George Voinovich in the U.S. Senate.[4]

On May 4, 2010, Fisher won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, defeating Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.[5]

In the November 2010 General Election, Fisher faced the Republican candidate, Rob Portman, a former Cincinnati congressman and Bush administration official.[5] In the November General Election, Portman received 57% of the votes. Portman also received the majority of votes in 82 of 88 counties and in 15 of 18 Congressional districts.[6]

Electoral history

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

References

  1. ↑ hosted.ap.org
  2. ↑ Strickland names Lee Fisher as running mate in governor's race. Business Courier of Cincinnati. January 26, 2006.
  3. ↑ http://www.ceosforcities.org/about/staff/
  4. ↑ Naymik, Mark. Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher joins the race for U.S. Senate seat, The Plain Dealer, February 17, 2009
  5. 1 2 Naymik, Mark. Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher raises another $550,000 for Senate campaign, starts spending it on commercials. The Plain Dealer. April 14, 2010.
  6. ↑ http://www.rollcall.com/issues/56_97/-204148-1.html
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