PROFILE | Richard E. Doran Fla. official traces his roots in law to boyhood in Niles

The appointee will hold the position through Jan. 6.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida's attorney general, who was raised in Niles, said his interest in the law stems from his longtime friendship with Judge Donald Ford, whom he calls his mentor.
Attorney General Richard E. Doran, 45, attended Niles public schools -- Bonham Elementary, Edison Junior High and Niles McKinley High -- and lived on Margaret Avenue before moving with his family to Jacksonville, Fla., in 1974.
"I had a very good childhood in Niles," Doran said. "I enjoyed the great small-town life. The good, solid Ohio middle class values were ingrained in me."
Doran was appointed to the attorney general's position last week by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Doran is filling the unexpired term of Bob Butterworth, a 16-year attorney general, who had to resign before Election Day under state law. Doran's term expires Jan. 6.
Growing up
Doran's father, Richard, was a Niles school teacher of English, and speech and debate, and was the announcer for Niles McKinley football games for several years. One of Doran's father's students was football legend Bo Rein. Later, his father worked in the personnel department of the former Strouss department store in Youngstown. A work transfer to Jacksonville led to the family leaving the area.
But Doran never forgot his roots.
While the Dorans lived in Niles, the attorney general's father developed a close friendship with Judge Ford, now an 11th District Court of Appeals judge and then a Trumbull County Common Pleas Court judge.
Because of the family friendship, Doran attended Bethany College in West Virginia, Judge Ford's alma mater. His undergraduate major was English literature. While at Bethany, Doran interned for Judge Ford as well as for the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office, which was run at the time by J. Walter Dragelevich.
"The law became an interest of mine from Don Ford talking about law and different cases he had," Doran said.
High-profile case
His interest was sealed in 1979 while interning in the prosecutor's office during a high-profile murder-for-hire case involving the shooting of Leo DiBlasio, a Girard doctor, and the murders of the doctor's second wife and a nurse. Robert D. Parks, the hitman, was hired by the doctor's first wife, Dorothy Mae DiBlasio.
Judge Ford was on the bench for that case with Dragelevich and Dennis Watkins, the current county prosecutor who was an assistant prosecutor at the time, prosecuting the case.
"Those people cemented my interest in the law," Doran said.
Watkins says he is flattered by the compliment.
"That's the great satisfaction I've gotten out of this job -- the success of those who have worked in the prosecutor's office," he said. "It's great that the prosecutor's office can impact people. This office has produced five judges since I've been prosecutor since 1984. People in this office have been successful."
Career history
Doran earned his law degree from Stetson University College of Law in Florida in 1981. After graduating, Doran spent two years as an assistant public defender in Naples, Fla., and then became as an assistant attorney general in Miami, specializing in death penalty cases.
He moved to the AG's main office in Tallahassee in 1987 to become the No. 3 lawyer in the attorney general's office. He was named the general counsel of the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services in 1995, and returned to the AG's office two years later to become Butterworth's chief deputy attorney general, a position he held for five years.
What was unique about the hire is Butterworth is a Democrat and Doran is a Republican.
"One of [Butterworth's] great strengths is he believes the attorney general is the lawyer for all people," Doran said. "He always said, 'You check your party at the door.'"
Butterworth, the longest serving AG in Florida history, was in his last term in that office. He was prohibited from seeking re-election because of the state's term limits law. Butterworth unsuccessfully ran last week for a state Senate seat, and under Florida law, because he was running for another public office he had to resign as attorney general right before Election Day, Doran said.
Bush appointed Doran to fill Butterworth's unexpired term through Jan. 6. He will be replaced Jan. 7 by Charlie Crist, who won last week's election for attorney general to become the first Republican to ever hold that post in Florida.
Reaction
Judge Ford, who keeps in touch with the Doran family, said he was ecstatic to hear about his former prot & eacute;g & eacute;'s appointment.
"He's a great public servant," Judge Ford said. "But I have to say I'm a little surprised. He's been in the political structure, but not as a candidate. Being the chief assistant wasn't a surprise, but this was a bit of one; not that he's not fully deserving."
Doran admits he is also surprised by the appointment.
"I never anticipated that I'd be attorney general," he said. "It's somewhat trite to say, but it's the story about studying hard and working hard and you can become anything you want to be. The governor was willing to entrust me with this wonderful office. It's still sinking in."
What's next
Doran -- who lives in Bradfordville in northern Leon County with his wife, Nora, and their two children -- is considering a number of opportunities after his AG term expires.
There is a vacancy on the court of appeals bench in northern Florida that interests Doran as does the potential of staying at the AG's office or going into private practice.
Although he has not returned to the Mahoning Valley in years, he still has fond memories of the area, and has relatives in Trumbull County. Also, Doran is proud of his Ohio ties: He has a Cleveland Indians bumper sticker on his car.
"I haven't been up there in a number of years, but I'm thinking of coming up this summer to show my kids where I'm from," he said.
skolnick@vindy.com