Reelect Mike Doran as county recorder

Four years ago, when we endorsed then-Lorain County Recorder Judy Nedwick for reelection, we conceded that if she lost the race to Mike Doran he "would probably make a fine recorder." Doran, a Republican, ousted the long-serving Nedwick, a Democrat, in an upset race. Sure enough, Doran, 40, has proven himself to be a fine recorder. He has done the job he was elected to do, which is to oversee a staff responsible for maintaining the county's property records, including deeds and liens, as well as copies of veterans' discharge papers. Doran continued work that Nedwick had begun to digitize those records, which date to the 1800s. Doran said when he took over from Nedwick, records going back to the 1980s had been digitized. Four years later, he told us in an endorsement interview, the office is still digitizing records, and those online now date to the 1970s. Doran's Democratic opponent, Dawn Walther, 58, told us in a separate interview that she wanted to speed up the digitization process to get the records online through the 1960s. It's an admirable goal, although Walther acknowledged that she would have to be elected in order to evaluate how to speed up the process. Walther also told us that she would spend as much time as possible in the office while still getting out into the community to explain what the county recorder does. For example, she argued that Doran should do a better job telling the public about the office's fraud-alert program. Walther has never held political office, although her last name is no doubt familiar to many in the county because she is married to county Probate Judge Jim Walther. Much of her work experience has been in the private sector, but Dawn Walther has worked in government. She was administrative assistant to then-county Commissioner Matt Lundy, a Democrat, until he lost his reelection bid in 2022. They both then went to work for then-Elyria Mayor Frank Whitfield, an independent, who lost his own reelection bid the following year. Walther now works in the office of Lorain City Auditor Joe Koziura, a Democrat. Her experience, coupled with her high name recognition, helps explain her lopsided win in the Democratic primary against Jeff Bearer, who is Doran's chief deputy. (We endorsed Walther in the primary.) We found Bearer's decision to run for his boss' job while still working for him to be strange, although it later became clear that it was a hedge against Doran losing in the primary by increasing the chances of there being some measure of continuity in the office's leadership. Doran has made enemies within his own party, and he had been expected to face a primary challenge from John Gall, Republican county Commissioner Jeff Riddell's administrative assistant. Gall's plans appear to have been derailed when he and Doran got into a childish spat over a parking spot in the county parking garage. To make a long story short, Gall kept parking in a spot assigned to Doran's office. Doran told us he finally got fed up and parked too close to Gall's driver-side door. But the passenger-side door on Gall's car didn't open, leaving Gall unable to get in the car. So Gall removed the sign that identified the parking spot as assigned to the Recorder's Office. Gall and his wife then waited for Doran, who had left his car in the garage while he and his wife attended a fundraiser, to return. Doran's wife, Christina Doran, picked up the car her husband had left in the garage. Gall followed her as she drove home. It ended in a confrontation in which Gall claimed that Mike Doran struck him, although no charges were filed. Christina Doran got a temporary civil stalking protection order against Gall, although a magistrate declined to make it permanent. The public deserves better from government officials, elected or not. However, we don't believe it to be disqualifying. That's in part because, as both Doran and Walther told us, the job of the recorder should be apolitical once he or she takes office. Doran largely avoided getting dragged into the chaos that has defined the commissioners' tenure over the last four years. We say largely avoided because Doran's trouble with some members of his party stems from his continued friendship with outgoing Commissioner Michelle Hung, a Republican who lost her own GOP primary this year. Doran also opposed a plan to remake county government that many Republicans supported. Voters rejected it last year. The question, though, is whether Doran has done a good-enough job as recorder to justify his reelection. We believe he has. When one of his vendors suffered a cyberattack, Doran moved quickly to contain the damage and has since switched vendors and upgraded security. (There also was a cyberattack when Nedwick was recorder.) As in 2020, the challenger would probably make a fine recorder if elected, but the incumbent has shown he can do the job well. Voters would be better served by reelecting Doran.