Manisha Kotian seeks Hamilton County Common Pleas judgeship

Manisha Kotian, a Sycamore Township resident and Hamilton County attorney since 1992, is running for Common Pleas Court Judge in the General Division. The nonpartisan seat appears on the Nov. 3, 2026, Ohio general election ballot.

Kotian faces Leah Dinkelacker in the race, according to BallotReady election data. Both candidates are listed as nonpartisan.

Kotian has not responded to the Village Press candidate questionnaire. The information below is drawn from her campaign website, BallotReady profile data and the Blue Voter Guide.

Candidate information

Residence: Sycamore Township, where she lives with her husband and three children, according to her campaign website. She describes herself as a lifelong resident of the Greater Cincinnati area.
Education: Bachelor's degree in marketing/marketing management from the University of Cincinnati (1989); juris doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (1992), according to BallotReady
Law practice: Attorney at Manisha Bansal Kotian (1992–present), according to BallotReady

Experience and public service

Kotian's campaign website describes a career spanning courtroom practice, child advocacy and business ownership.

She said she served as a magistrate at the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas. She also said she represented children who were victims of abuse and neglect at the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati and the Public Defender's Office.

She said she developed a family mediation program at the ACLU and Legal Aid, and worked as a mediator, litigator and guardian ad litem in private practice and Hamilton County courts.

Outside the legal field, Kotian said she owned Tri-State Concrete Construction from 2004 to 2024.

On the issues

Kotian's campaign website lists three priorities for the bench:

Accessibility: Courts should offer family-friendly hours so working residents do not need to use vacation time to file documents, according to her campaign.
Transparency: Litigants should understand the court process and feel their voices are respected, she said.
Representation: The diversity of Hamilton County should be reflected on the bench and in the magistracy, according to her campaign.