News Blog

The Monroe County GOP has picked off one of the Democrats' top stars. Today, county District Attorney Sandra Doorley announced that she is switching her party enrollment from Democrat to Republican. Doorley's victory over Republican Bill Taylor in the 2011 DA's race was a rare prize for local Dems, who haven't enjoyed much success in their races for countywide offices. 

Taylor was in the audience — as was a who's who of elected Republicans from across the county — as Doorley announced her switch.

Doorley said she arrived at her decision after much reflection and that her personal values have always been more aligned with the GOP; she's been a registered Republican in the past. But she's a career prosecutor and wants to run an office focused on effective prosecutions and preventing crime, she said.

"Don't judge me by the political party I'm aligned with, judge me by the job that I've done," Doorley said.

And the Republicans seemed to think she's done a good job as DA. During his introductory remarks, GOP chair Bill Reilich touted the office's
94 percent conviction rate, and said it "successfully prosecuted" 4,987 felony cases and 17,548 misdemeanor cases.

Dems responded by going on the attack. Dave Garretson, chair of the county Democratic Committee, released the following strongly worded statement immediately following Doorley's announcement: 

“Today’s announcement is a disappointment to voters who elected Sandra Doorley believing that she would serve as a strong and independent prosecutor. Republicans in our county face ongoing state and federal investigations, with active indictments on bid-rigging and other public corruption charges. The voters of Monroe County deserve a strong and independent prosecutor. The Democratic Party will be fielding such a candidate this fall.”