Judge Lisa D.McGowan
Family Matters. Vote for experience.
Administrative Judge of the Lucas County Domestic Relations Division. Eleven years on the bench, and more than twenty-six years inside this one division. She has done every job in that courthouse before this one.
18 days until Election Day
11
Years on the bench
Judge since 2015
26+
Years in this division
Continuously since 1999
2
Countywide elections won
2014 and 2020
AJ
Administrative Judge
Runs the division she sits on
The Record
She did not arrive at this court. She grew up in it.
Most judges come to the bench from private practice or a prosecutor's office and learn the division on the job. Judge McGowan spent twelve years as a staff attorney in this exact division, then three years as its magistrate, before voters elected her to preside over it.
2014
Elected countywide
Won the general election on November 4, 2014 with 60.9% of the vote, after winning a contested Republican primary in May with 59.6%.
2020
Re-elected countywide
Won the general election on November 3, 2020, unopposed, with 134,227 votes cast in her favor.
2026
On the ballot again
Advanced from the May 5, 2026 primary with 14,860 votes and appears on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot.
What is at stake
This is the court that decides who raises your children.
Most voters have never heard of the Domestic Relations Division until they need it. Then it becomes the most important court in their life. Here is what it actually decides.
R.C. Chapter 3105
Divorce, dissolution, legal separation and annulment
Every marriage that ends in Lucas County through the courts ends here. The division decides how property and debt are divided and whether spousal support is ordered, for how long, and in what amount.
R.C. Chapter 3109
Parental rights, custody and parenting time
The division allocates parental rights and responsibilities, sets parenting time, and decides relocation and modification disputes, applying the best interest of the child standard.
R.C. Chapter 3119
Child support
Support is calculated, ordered, modified and enforced here, including deviations from the guideline worksheet and post-decree arrearage proceedings.
R.C. 3113.31
Domestic violence civil protection orders
Petitions for civil protection orders are heard on an emergency basis, often the same day they are filed. These are among the fastest and most consequential decisions the division makes.
I have worked in this one division since 1999: as a staff attorney, as its magistrate, and now as its judge. I know exactly how a support worksheet must be balanced fairly, how protection orders must be handled with both urgency and accuracy, and how long a family waits when a docket is not managed. That is not something you learn after you take the oath.
Watch
Hear it from Judge McGowan.
Support
Endorsements
Labor and law enforcement, on the record and in writing. Every endorsement below comes from a signed letter the campaign holds.
Toledo Police Command Officers' Association
Daniel Raab, President
Based upon a recommendation from our Political Action Committee, the membership of the Toledo Police Command Officers' Association has overwhelmingly voted to endorse your candidacy for re-election as Judge. We share your desire for Toledo to be a safe environment where all of our families can enjoy a high standard of living.
Toledo Police Patrolman's Association
Michael Haynes, President · I.U.P.A. Local 10
The Toledo Police Patrolman's Association is proud to extend their endorsement to you for your election bid. Your energy and dedication will be a positive asset as you serve your constituents.
Iron Workers Local 55
Jason J. Habel, Business Manager
On behalf of Ironworkers Local #55, I am pleased to inform you that your re-election for Lucas County Domestic Relations Court has received our official endorsement.
Toledo Port Council
John E. Clemons, President · Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO
Please accept our endorsement to assist you in your re-election campaign. The Toledo Port Council and its sixteen local affiliates appreciate your continued support of organized labor through the use of union labor, union printed materials, and union establishments in our community.
Before you vote
Judges are at the bottom of the ballot.
In Ohio, candidates for judge of a court of common pleas are nominated in a partisan primary but appear on the November ballot with no party label, in the separate nonpartisan judicial section. That section sits below the partisan races, so voters who stop early never reach it. Turning the ballot over is the single most important thing a supporter can do.
How to vote in Lucas CountyJoin the campaign
Keep experience on the domestic relations bench.
Contribute to the committee, volunteer, request a yard sign, add your endorsement, or tell the campaign you are in.