Auditor Dorrian Won't Run In 2017

A veteran Columbus city leader says he will not seek re-election next year. Democratic Columbus City Auditor Hugh Dorrian has earned the respect of the Republicans and Democrats with whom he has served at city hall over the course of his 51 year career. The 81-year-old Dorrian was appointed Auditor in 1969 and has won re-election ever since. Known for his conservative stewardship of the city's finances, and valued by other city leaders for his institutional knowledge, Dorrian has earned universal praise from Republican Mayors such as Buck Rinehart and Greg Lashutka, to Democratic Mayors Michael Coleman and Andy Ginther, along with a slew of City Council members. Dorrian says his primary goal in office has been to act in a manner that best serves the community, and to serve with honor and dignity. Dorrian is endorsing a successor, former assistant Megan Kilgore, but says he will remain in office through the end of his term. Dorrian is a U.S. Army veteran who grew up in Franklinton and graduated from Ohio State University. He was appointed city Treasurer in 1965 after losing the race for Auditor. A statement from the Mayor's office reads in part "Under his leadership, the City of Columbus has consistently been one of the few major cities in the nation to maintain a Triple-A credit rating and stable financial outlook from all three major rating agencies. Mr. Dorrian’s accomplishments during his 12 terms in office include receiving the Award of Financial Reporting Achievement from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for the city’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports for 37 consecutive years, 1979 through 2015. During his terms as City Auditor, accounting and reporting for the city was converted from cash and encumbrance accounting to generally accepted accounting principles as applicable to government."