Ethics Commission Appoints New Executive Director

Published on September 17, 2025

September 17, 2025 —

The City of Oakland Public Ethics Commission—the independent agency charged with guarding against corruption and ensuring accountability in city government--today announced the selection of Suzanne Doran as its new Executive Director. As Executive Director, Ms. Doran will lead the administration and enforcement of Oakland campaign finance, lobbying, transparency, and government ethics laws and manage a staff of eight.  

“The search for the Executive Director to replace Nicholas Heidorn was very competitive with several highly qualified candidates. Ms. Doran was unanimously selected by the Commission as clearly the most qualified candidate. The fact that Ms. Doran has been on the Commission staff since 2016 and is highly respected by her colleagues gives her the ability to be immediately effective in taking the Commission to the next level, which is something we are very excited about.” said Commission Chair Francis Upton IV.  

Since joining the Commission in 2016, Ms. Doran has been responsible for administration of the Commission’s disclosure and engagement program and led multiple technology projects to enhance compliance and improve tools for public access to local campaign finance and other disclosure data. Most recently, Ms. Doran’s work focused on overseeing implementation of the city’s Fair Elections Act, an innovative public campaign financing program for Oakland candidates, that will put Democracy Dollars vouchers directly into the hands of voters during elections. 

“I am honored that the Commissioners chose to place their trust in me as their next Executive Director,” said Ms. Doran, “particularly at a time when voices for honesty and integrity in government need to be amplified at every level. I am proud to carry on the Commission’s vital role in Oakland city government and efforts to strengthen Oakland’s local democracy. It is truly a privilege to do this important work in partnership with such an outstanding and dedicated group of commissioners and staff,” said Ms. Doran.  

“I also recognize the urgent need to secure the resources necessary to fully enforce Oakland’s ethics and campaign finance laws, and to deliver on the promise of innovative programs like Democracy Dollars that put power back in the hands of voters,” Ms. Doran said. 

Ms. Doran holds a B.A. in Rhetoric with an emphasis on human rights discourse from the University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree in public policy from Mills College. 

Ms. Doran succeeds Executive Director Nicolas Heidorn, who held the role from May 9, 2023 through July 7, 2025. 

About the Public Ethics Commission 

The Public Ethics Commission ensures compliance with the City of Oakland’s government ethics, campaign finance, transparency, and lobbyist registration laws that aim to promote fairness, openness, honesty, and integrity in city government and promote more inclusive, representative, and accountable democracy in Oakland. 

Learn more

For more about the Public Ethics Commission, visit us online at www.oaklandca.gov/pec.