Lee Fisher

Lee Fisher

Lee and his Family-Early Years

Lee Fisher’s Ohio roots run deep. The grandson of Eastern European immigrants who moved to Ohio in search of the American dream, Lee was raised in Cleveland by Stan and Elaine “Boots” Fisher. Lee’s grandparents on his dad’s side settled in the small town of New Philadelphia, Ohio and opened a small women’s dress shop. Growing up, Lee and his sisters and brother spent every summer in New Philly. Lee’s great-grandfather on his mother’s side was an immigrant sheet-metal worker from Russia who later went into the business of converting furnaces into air conditioners.

Lee’s interest in public service stems back to dinner table discussions with his family about ways to make a difference in the community. His father Stan grew up in New Philly, played football at New Philadelphia High School under a coach by the name of Woody Hayes, and proudly served his country in the Army, stationed in Japan, before returning to the U.S. to become an attorney. Elaine Fisher, Lee’s mother, was an avid reader who took out a book from the public library every two weeks for 30 years, and a loving homemaker, who dedicated her life to raising Lee, his sisters, Barbara and Susie, and brother, Richard.

EDUCATION

Lee learned early on the value of a good education and the necessity of hard work from the values and ideals his parents instilled in him. He attended primary and secondary public schools in Shaker Heights, a streetcar suburb of Cleveland. After high school, Lee attended car accident during a camping trip to Idaho. It was unclear whether Lee would live or ever walk again, but after three months in recovery, Lee was healthy and able to return to Ohio. This crisis, coupled with his mother’s later battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, made Lee determined to never give up the struggle for every American to have health care.

PUBLIC SERVICE

Following law school, Lee married Peggy Zone of Cleveland, a graduate of The Ohio State University and the daughter of the late Mary and Michael Zone, both longtime public servants in Cleveland.

Soon after their wedding day, Peggy and Lee were walking door to door and making phone calls on behalf of Lee’s first campaign for the Ohio legislature. As a newly elected State Representative, Lee was voted by his legislative colleagues and the Statehouse press corps as Ohio’s Outstanding Freshman Legislator. More important to Lee, though, were his efforts to balance his career in public service with the needs of his family. It was during Lee’s second term in the legislature that he and Peggy’s first child, Jason, was born.

During Peggy’s pregnancy, she and Lee saw a TV show about the disappearance of a little boy in Florida named Adam Walsh. Lee was disturbed to learn that Ohio had a better system for tracking missing cars than missing children. So he worked closely with John Walsh, Adam’s father, to write Ohio’s Missing Children law, which helps to prevent kidnappings and find missing children.

During his years in the legislature, Lee earned a reputation as a hardworking, effective author of sound laws, including the Missing Children Law; the Hate Crime Law; the Crime Victims Assistance Law; the Hospice Licensure Law; and the Child Safety Seat Law. He also led the legislative fight to secure critical funding for Ohio legal aid services.

After 10 years in the state legislature, Lee decided his commitment to creating positive change for Ohioans could best be fulfilled as our state’s attorney general. Lee was elected as Ohio Attorney General in 1990. The next year, he and Peggy welcomed their second child, Jessica, to the family.

During his four years as attorney general, Lee created the national award-winning Operation Crackdown program, shutting down hundreds of dangerous drug houses throughout Ohio. He also established the first-ever statewide law enforcement and crime victim conferences, which are now annual traditions in Ohio’s law enforcement community. Lee successfully defended the constitutionality of the Ohio Hate Crime law before the Ohio Supreme Court (the same law he authored as a State Senator years earlier). The Columbus Dispatch described Lee as an “innovative crime fighter.”

Lee later led the Center for Families and Children in Cleveland, one of the largest human service organizations in Ohio. Leading a team of over 300 professionals, Lee focused on child care and early childhood education, after school programs for youth at risk, a nationally recognized fathering program, and mental health services. He founded and co-chaired the Mental Health Advocacy Coalition and received the Nonprofit Executive of the Year Award and the Visionary Innovation in Business Award from Smart Business Magazine for his innovative and entrepreneurial leadership of the Center for Families and Children.

A NEW FIGHT

When Ted Strickland asked Lee to run as his running mate in 2006, Ohio was just beginning to feel the effects of the Bush Administration’s misguided trade policies, failed economic program, and disastrous fiscal stewardship that ran up our national debt and cost thousands of Ohioans their jobs. Lee wasn’t willing to sit on the sidelines while hardworking Ohioans suffered in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

As our Lieutenant Governor and Director of the Ohio Department of Development for the first two years of the Strickland-Fisher administration, Lee has worked tirelessly alongside Governor Ted Strickland, to retain, attract, and create jobs to grow Ohio’s economy.

Whether it’s as a father, husband, teacher, children’s advocate, champion for social justice and human and civil rights, Ohio’s chief law enforcement officer, or Ohio’s chief economic development leader, Lee has devoted the past 29 years to getting real results, finding real solutions, and making a real difference in the lives of people throughout Ohio. He now wants to bring those years of experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, of making change happen and getting real results to Washington where he can fight for a better future for all Ohioans.

LEE’S FAMILY

Lee and Peggy live in Shaker Heights. Their oldest child, Jason, is a documentary filmmaker and a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Their daughter Jessica is a freshman at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio.

Accomplished and successful in her own right, Peggy was the President and CEO of Zone Travel for 30 years; she sold her business in 2005 and now leads The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio, a human relations organization that advances diversity, challenges assumptions and advocates for understanding through education and training.

Peggy’s business and community leadership was recognized nationally when President Clinton appointed her as one of 11 national Commissioners of the White House Conference on Small Business, and the only Commissioner from Ohio. As a U.S. Small Business Commissioner, Peggy traveled the country convening forums with business leaders about small business issues. The Women Business Owners Association honored her as one of the “Top 20 Women Business Owners in Northeast Ohio” and she received the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award. Peggy was a delegate to the first-ever White House Conference on AIDS, and was honored by the AIDS Task Force of Greater Cleveland for her more than a decade of leadership on AIDS issues.

Peggy currently serves on the Board of the Cleveland Clinic Western Regional Hospital, Neighborhood Progress, Inc., and the Community West Foundation.

For more information on Lee fisher go to  http://www.fisherforohio.com/

About Ted Strickland

The son of a steelworker and the eighth of nine children, Ted Strickland was born on August 4, 1941 in Lucasville, Ohio. Like many sons of Southeast Ohio,Ted never imagined that he’d be able to go to college until a high school teacher took him on a trip to the Asbury College and Theological Seminary in Kentucky. It was a visit that changed his life. Ted became the only child in his family to go on to college and has since earned two masters degrees and a PhD.

He has served as an ordained Methodist minister, a psychologist, a college professor, a member of Congress and now governor of Ohio. In 1987, Ted married Frances Smith and the couple soon settled in Southern Ohio.

Elected to Congress in 1992, Ted has represented twenty Ohio counties stretching from the Cincinnati suburbs to the suburbs of Youngstown. In Congress, he helped co-author CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), a federal initiative that provides health insurance to millions of children nationwide.

As governor, he has continued to stand up for Ohio families. He’s passed legislation guaranteeing health care access for all Ohio children, and he's working to make that happen. He signed a 1.57 billion dollar stimulus package aimed at creating tens of thousands of new jobs in rebuilding Ohio communities, producing advanced energy and spurring life-saving medical research. And he also introduced and signed legislation that mandates that 25 percent of all Ohio’s electricity use come from advanced energy sources by 2025 – which will make Ohio the 3rd largest user of renewable energy in the nation.

He has passed two balanced budgets, without raising taxes. And, in July 2009, he signed a new education reform bill that makes Ohio's funding system constitutional, and reforms the way our schools teach in order to prepare Ohio young people for the new kinds of jobs our economy is creating.  

Yvette Brown

Yvette McGee Brown is the current and founding president of the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children's Hospital, a former Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge, and an active, respected leader in the central Ohio community.

A lifelong resident of Columbus, Yvette was born to a teenage mother who worked two jobs to provide for her children. As a child, Yvette’s mother and grandmother instilled in her the importance of education, and the conviction that it doesn’t matter where you start -- but it matters where you finish.

Yvette attended Ohio University and graduated with a degree in journalism/public relations. As Yvette continued her education at the Ohio State University law school, her mother put herself through college at the same time. Yvette’s mother stood as an inspiration to her and a testament to the importance of education that she taught Yvette as a child.

After earning her law degree Yvette turned to public service, recognizing the incredible opportunities that she had been given and hoping to help other Ohioans realize their potential.

Yvette served as a judge in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Division of Domestic Relations and Juvenile Court, from 1993 to 2002. She was the first African-American and the second woman to be elected to the court.

In 2002, Yvette retired from the Franklin County Common Pleas Court to create the Center for Child and Family Advocacy. The Center is a multi-disciplinary child abuse and family violence program that co-locates prevention, assessment, treatment, research, advocacy and education services for children and families experiencing abuse.

As a common pleas judge, Yvette saw that children coming before her court saw no future for themselves and turned to crime. The Center would help expand opportunities for children uncertain of where to turn for help or direction.

At Nationwide Children's Hospital, Yvette leads a team of child abuse, medical, and behavioral health professionals in a program that has become a national model for integration of multi-disciplinary services.

Yvette serves on the boards of Ohio University, The Ohio State University Medical Center, the Columbus Academy, the Community Shelter Board, M/I Homes, Inc. and Fifth Third Bank of Central Ohio.

In 2008, Yvette was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame. Among her honors, Yvette has received the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award and several honors from Ohio University and the Ohio State University.

Yvette is married to Tony Brown, an inspiring special education teacher. They have three children.

An Ohioan who has taken full advantage of the opportunities she was given and has devoted her life to helping others, Yvette believes that state government is an important next step in her commitment to public service.

In Yvette, Ohio will find a tireless advocate for its families and children. Together, Ted and Yvette have the vision to invest in our future, because Ohio needs leadership that believes in Ohio.

MARYELLEN O'SHAUGHNESSY'S BIOGRAPHY

 The daughter of two World War II veterans, Maryellen O'Shaughnessy comes from a long line of public servants. From the time her great-grandfather first ran for office in 1910, members of the O'Shaughnessy family have served in a variety of elected roles from the state legislature to the Columbus City Council. Her father was a state senator.

O'Shaughnessy currently serves as Clerk of Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. In this position, she oversees a vast system of county records, as well as a staff of 231 and a budget of $12.5 million. She has improved turnaround time for document processing and provided more responsive services. She has also boosted transparency in that office by ensuring that court documents are quickly available online for public viewing.

Prior to serving as Clerk, O'Shaughnessy was elected three times as a Columbus City Council Member, representing the 15th largest city in the nation. She was committed to providing excellent constituent services, listening to neighborhood concerns and providing the resources necessary to keep her community thriving. Serving as the Columbus City Council's Labor Liaison, O'Shaughnessy wrote legislation that required the city's training, good benefits, and base wages.

As Chair of the Public Service and Transportation Committee on the Columbus City Council, O'Shaughnessy worked to restore "Complete Streets" to the city's transportation grid, advocating comprehensive sidewalk policies, safe bikeways and better public transit options. As former chair of the Utilities Committee and chair of the Development Committee, she worked toward better, more sustainable growth policies, including the city's "21st Century Growth Strategy."

Maryellen is running for Secretary of State because she is passionate about our democracy and wants Ohio to continue to have free, open, and fair elections. As Ohio's next Secretary of State, she will advocate greater participation and more civic awareness. She will push to make it easy for Ohioans to register to vote by allowing applicants for driver's licenses and social services to be provided assured voter registration, unless they opt out, and promote changes to make it possible for citizens to securely register to vote on the Internet. She will also enhance programs targeted at increasing voter participation among Ohioans of all ages, particularly young people.

O'Shaughnessy is a fifth-generation resident of central Ohio and a fourth-generation funeral director and owner of O'Shaughnessy Company Funeral Directors, which was established in 1889. O'Shaughnessy is a graduate of Bishop Watterson High School, and received a B.A. in Journalism from The Ohio State University. O’Shaughnessy is active in her church and is a past recipient of the Diocesan Service Award.

In her spare time, O’Shaughnessy enjoys many sports and outdoor activities. She lives in the O'Shaughnessy family's ancestral neighborhood of Victorian Village with her son, Colin, and dog Fly.

To learn more about Mary Ellen O'Shaughnessy go to:   www.maryellenforohio.com

David Pepper

Track Record: Fiscal Responsibility, Job Creation, Reform

David Pepper has a track record of stepping up to bring common sense, responsible leadership at tough times.

David made his first run for political office at 29 years’ old (in 2001), and finished first out of a field of 26 candidates for Cincinnati City Council.  It was the first time a newcomer finished first in almost 40 years.  David ran for reelection in 2003, again finishing first by an even larger margin over a field of 26 candidates.  He won both traditionally Democratic and Republican wards across the City.

David arrived at City Council shortly after the Cincinnati riots (Dec. 2001), and at a time of deep concern among citizens of Cincinnati.  Over the next four years, he helped lead the way to reform city hall, heal police-community relations, add officers to the street, reinvigorate economic development downtown and in other parts of the City, and lower property tax rates.  His final year on Council marked the first increase in the City’s population in decades. In 2006, David challenged Hamilton County Commission President (and former Lt. Gov candidate) Phil Heimlich in 2006, after the County’s direction reached a low point under the Heimlich-DeWine majority.  By winning numerous cross-over voters, and winning outright in some traditionally Republican areas, David (53%) was the leading Democratic vote getter of all the Democrats (statewide) on the County ballot.  David’s win marked the first time Democrats have held the County majority in 40 years.

Taking office in January 2007, David arrived at a County government that had been badly mismanaged—a squandered reserve fund, wasteful spending, questionable ethics and management practices, poor relations with the state and City, and underinvested and unsuccessful economic development.  Since he arrived, David has fought to clean up the mess: adding fiscally prudent policies and reforms to assure responsibility and accountability while eliminating waste and reducing overall spending by tens of millions of dollars; implementing ethics reforms; improving relations with the city and state; pushing to reform the criminal justice system; and investing in new economic growth and recovery strategies, creating thousands of jobs and successfully moving forward on the Banks project to revitalize Ohio and Cincinnati’s riverfront.

Other Biographical Information

Since 2000, David, 38, has also served as an attorney in the Cincinnati office of the law firm of Squire Sanders & Dempsey, where he concentrates his practice on appellate litigation. From 1999-2000, he clerked for Judge Nathaniel Jones on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati.

For more information go to:  http://www.davidpepper.com/

Justin Fallon

Information to provided soon.

Mark MacNealy

Information to follow soon.

Eric Brown

Brown running for Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice

Franklin County Probate Judge Eric Brown this morning announced that he's running for the state's top judicial job, which will be an open seat for the first time since 1986.

Brown, a Democrat, is expected to face Justice Maureen O'Connor, a Republican, in the race for chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.

Brown was accompanied by Gov. Ted Strickland, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern, family members and other supporters at a Statehouse news conference this morning. He is married to Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown.

"Ohio needs a chief justice who brings to the court a viewpoint that challenges the thinking of the other justices," Brown said. "I will add the balance needed so that the court more accurately reflects the people it serves."

Brown served as a Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge from 2005 to 2008. He was elected that year as the county's probate judge. Brown had considered running that year for the Supreme Court but decided against it.

In a September 2008 editorial board meeting at The Dispatch, Brown swatted down rumors that he would run for the Supreme Court this year.

"I have no plan, no design whatsoever, to run for the Supreme Court in 2010," Brown said at the time. "I intend to serve as a probate judge in this community."

He later added: "A Supreme Court race is simply not in the cards."

Asked about his 2008 comments, Brown said this morning: "I stand by the statement that I made at that time. When the governor (Strickland) asked, it was important to consider the opportunity to serve all of the people of Ohio."

Brown unseated Probate Judge Lawrence A. Belskis, a three-term incumbent who had gotten a "highly recommended" rating from the local bar association. Brown's rating was "acceptable."

O'Connor was first elected to the court in 2002. In her reelection campaign in 2008, O'Connor received about two-thirds of the popular vote, making her the top vote-getter statewide.

Redfern acknowledged that O'Connor could be a formidable opponent, but said Brown is up to the task.

"With all due respect to Justice O'Connor and all of the candidates of the past, this is not 2008 or 2002," the party chairman said.

O'Connor and Brown are seeking to replace current Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer, a Republican who has held that position since 1987.

Republicans hold all seven seats on the Supreme Court.

State Central Committee Woman:  Zelma Furnish

State Central Committee Man:  Floyd E. Wright

No information available.