Legal and Disclosures
Everything a voter is entitled to know about this website.
Who paid for it, what it is not, what a judicial candidate may and may not say, what the law allows you to give, and where every fact on this site came from.
Paid for by
Paid for by Friends of McGowan, Joseph B Clarke, Treasurer, 420 Madison Ave #1101, Toledo, OH 43604.
The statute also provides that the disclaimer "paid political advertisement," standing alone, is not sufficient.
This is not the court's website
This is the website of the campaign committee of Judge Lisa D. McGowan. It is not a website of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, the Domestic Relations Division, or Lucas County. It is not maintained at public expense and no public funds, staff, or facilities are used in its operation.
For dockets, forms, filing information, local rules and court hours, use the court's own website. Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division
What a judicial candidate may and may not do
Judge McGowan does not personally solicit or accept campaign contributions. Under Rule 4.4(A) of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, contributions are solicited, received, and managed solely by her campaign committee.
Under Rule 4.1(A)(13) of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, a judicial candidate may not make pledges, promises, or commitments that are inconsistent with the impartial performance of the adjudicative duties of judicial office. Nothing on this site is, or should be read as, a commitment about how Judge McGowan would decide any issue or case.
Judge McGowan cannot discuss a pending or impending case outside the courtroom. Do not use any form on this website to send information about a case, to ask a legal question, or to seek advice. Messages of that kind cannot be answered and will be discarded. If you have a matter before the court, contact your attorney or the Clerk of Courts.
Judicial campaign conduct in Ohio is governed by Canon 4 of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct and enforced by the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct. Board of Professional Conduct
Contribution rules
Under Rule 4.4 of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, contributions to a candidate for judge of a court of common pleas are limited to $800 per individual per election. The primary and the general election are separate elections for this purpose.
Ohio law prohibits corporations from contributing to a candidate or a candidate's campaign committee. R.C. 3599.03.
Federal law prohibits contributions from foreign nationals in connection with any federal, state, or local election. 52 U.S.C. § 30121.
Contributions to a candidate's campaign committee are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.
Contribution limits for Ohio judicial candidates are adjusted periodically for inflation by order of the Supreme Court of Ohio. The figure stated above reflects the limits adopted effective October 15, 2024 for the 2025 election cycle and after. Confirm the current limit with the campaign treasurer or the Board of Professional Conduct before giving.
How this race appears on the ballot
Candidates for judge of an Ohio court of common pleas are nominated in a partisan primary and appear on the general election ballot without party designation, in the nonpartisan judicial section.
Sources and accuracy
Every biographical fact, date, job title and election result on this website is drawn from the public sources listed below. No endorsement, quotation, statistic, award or case outcome has been created for this site. Where the campaign has not yet supplied material, whether a photograph, a statement in the judge's own words, or the committee's contact information, the site says so plainly rather than filling the space.
- Ballotpedia: Lisa McGowan
Career history, education, and 2014, 2020 and 2026 election results.
- Judicial Votes Count (University of Akron / Ohio State Bar Foundation)
Judicial and legal experience, corroborating the 1999–2015 record.
- Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division
Court location, jurisdiction and public information.
- Ohio Board of Professional Conduct: Judicial Candidates
Judicial campaign conduct and finance rules, including contribution limits.
- Ohio Revised Code § 3517.20
Statutory disclaimer requirements for political communications.
- Lucas County Board of Elections
Local election dates, early voting hours and polling locations.
Sources retrieved August 2026. Ohio election law and judicial campaign finance rules change; nothing on this page is legal advice, and the official sources above govern.
Privacy
Information submitted through the forms on this site is used only by the campaign committee to contact you about the campaign. It is not sold. Volunteer, yard sign, and endorsement information may be shared with campaign staff and volunteers for the purpose it was submitted for.
Volunteer, yard sign, endorsement and contact submissions are stored in the campaign's own database and are visible only to authenticated campaign staff. Endorsements are published only after a staff member marks them approved. To have your information removed, contact the campaign.
Accessibility
This site is built to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. If any part of it is difficult for you to use, tell the campaign and it will be fixed.
The site is keyboard navigable, uses semantic headings and landmarks, respects reduced-motion preferences, and is built to meet AA contrast in both its light and dark sections.
Corrections
If anything on this site is wrong, the campaign wants to know and will fix it. Accuracy is not a courtesy in a judicial race; Ohio R.C. 3517.21(B) makes false statements about a judicial candidate actionable, and Jud.Cond.R. 4.3 holds the candidate responsible for the truth of the campaign's own statements.