Charlie Comfort.

I read with interest the recent reporting on Mark Doland’s chickens finally coming home to roost. Doland’s rambling, dishonest response to the truth is, at best, laughable, and at worst, outright libelous. Having personally witnessed the unraveling of Mahaska County’s government under Doland’s so-called “leadership,” I feel compelled to set the record straight on his continued lies.

To introduce myself, I’m now a healthcare professional and Mahaska County elected official, but I spent years as a journalist, with the dubious honor of covering Mark Doland’s escapades as a Mahaska County Supervisor. Since his 2013 election, questions over his ethics were widespread–and for good reason. Full disclosure: I once opposed Doland’s stance on the regional airport project. However, with extensive research and experience as an elected official, I now see the airport’s impracticality in its current form. Even so, Doland’s antics were never about the project; they were always about Doland.

His 2013 election came on the heels of a dubious campaign involving robocalls arranged with the state’s GOP leadership to boost his profile. Those calls went unreported as campaign contributions, violating Iowa’s campaign ethics, for which Doland received a sharp rebuke from Iowa’s Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board Executive Director. Unfortunately, this marked just the beginning of a pattern of Doland abusing his political position to enrich himself.

What did he spend his campaign donations on, you might ask? In 2014, Doland recorded nearly $100 for a non-existent campaign headquarters, $500 for a golf cart that never saw a campaign trail, and reimbursement for meals and office supplies long after election season. People who gave to Doland’s campaign were unknowingly padding his pockets, effectively subsidizing his finances after his 2018 bankruptcy.

Doland’s “ethics” didn’t stop there. In 2015, he took an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel, courtesy of then-presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, only to back another candidate, Rand Paul. Doland was no stranger to quid pro quo, having experience from working with Michele Bachmann’s campaign, where he witnessed under-the-table payouts for endorsements (see Kent Sorenson).

As a journalist, I also witnessed Doland’s most blatant attempt at nepotism: his denial of any connection with an attorney he’d later push as County Attorney, despite this same attorney representing Doland’s then-wife in a domestic abuse trial. When Doland failed to send all county inmates to his own counseling business for substance abuse evaluations, it wasn’t for lack of trying–only the intervention of a more ethical supervisor stopped him from profiting off the county’s vulnerable residents.

Doland’s recent claim that a local successful businessman helped create Osky News due to Mark’s airport opposition is equally absurd. As a high school student, I co-founded Osky News in 2010 with Ken Allsup, nearly 3 years before Mark’s crusade began. Doland’s insinuation that Osky News was funded by nefarious airport proponents is as laughable as it is false.

Then there’s his residency issue. Doland swears he commuted daily from Des Moines to Oskaloosa to maintain residency. Yet, I have reviewed federal and state court filings from 2018-2019 listing his address as Norwalk. Doland must clarify whether he lied to the federal bankruptcy court, Iowa District Court, or the voters. Given his well-known record for absenteeism from his assigned committees, Doland’s definition of “service” to constituents seems more about serving himself.

Doland’s claims that he “served” his constituents in Tama and Mahaska counties with integrity are, like so much else he says, false. Doland led closed meetings and barred the press when it suited him. This, from a man who attacks local government for alleged “secrecy” surrounding the airport meetings. I personally attended those meetings, packed with the public and fire marshals called in to enforce capacity–hardly the cloak-and-dagger affair Doland suggests.

In closing, Doland’s statement that “dirty political games” disqualify one from office might be his most truthful admission to date. Mark, by your own words, perhaps it’s time to disqualify yourself and spare the public your “service.”

Charlie Comfort, MHA, is a lifelong resident of Oskaloosa and a current at-large City Councilman in Oskaloosa. Comfort was a journalist from 2012-2020, including stints as a writer for Osky News, News Director of KBOE Radio in Oskaloosa, staff writer for the Independence Bulletin-Journal, and Publisher of the News-Review in Sigourney. Comfort holds a bachelors in Organizational Leadership from Buena Vista University and a masters in Healthcare Administration from Upper Iowa University. Comfort is currently a healthcare leader, managing a large family practice medical clinic in southeast Iowa.