President Pro Tem Rob Dorans

First elected in 2019, Rob Dorans seeks to be a voice for working families and an advocate for increased economic opportunity. Over the past five years, Dorans' key legislative accomplishments include: Passing one of the nation’s strongest municipal wage theft laws to ensure that employers that steal from their workers are not permitted to do business with the city, updated Columbus’ responsible wage law to ensure that any worker employed on a city contract are paid at minimum $20 per hour, worked to create and fund a new online based criminal record sealing platform, opportunityport.org, which has helped hundreds of Columbus residents move on from involvement with the criminal justice system, and coordinated efforts with four local hospital systems to forgive $335 million in medical debt for low-income Columbus residents.

As the chair of the Zoning Committee, Dorans oversaw the approval of over 10,000 housing units through re-zonings and variances, a 3,000 unit increase from 2022. Dorans was elected by his colleagues in 2023 and reelected in 2024 to serve the body as President Pro Tempore. In this role, he works with the president to direct policy and legislation for all of Council. This year, President Pro Tem Dorans will chair both the Zoning and Workforce, Education & Labor committees. He will also vice-chair for the Finance and Rules & Policy committees.

In addition to serving on Council, Dorans is the Chief Legal Counsel for ACT Ohio, a labor-affiliated nonprofit that advocates on behalf of workers in the construction industry. His work at ACT Ohio has led to the return of hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages to workers defrauded by their employers. He is a proud third-generation union member.

Dorans has been active in the legal and civic community in Columbus. He is a member of the Columbus Bar Association, and is a graduate of its Barristers Leadership Program. Additionally, he has volunteered with Columbus Legal Aid Society and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio.

Dorans graduated with honors from Ohio University and received his law degree from the University of Toledo. He was named to Columbus Business First 40 Under 40 list in 2023 and was honored as ‘Notable Alum’ by Ohio University in 2019. He and his wife, Dr. Lauren Elliott-Dorans, live in the Clintonville neighborhood of Columbus with their son Elliott, and rescue dog Captain.