Allegheny County Commissioner
Cranmer went on to be elected County Commissioner in November 1995 in a landmark election and was thought to be a firebrand conservative. Being a member of the first Republican majority in Allegheny County government since the Great Depression, Cranmer subsequently split with his Republican running mate Larry Dunn over major differences concerning the managing of the county government, and formed a close governing alliance with Democrat commissioner Mike Dawida.
He was heralded as a "traitor" to Republicans by commissioner Dunn, who subsequently, (unlike Cranmer), switched parties and became a registered Democrat to run for county controller in 2003. In summary, the Post-Gazette stated "that despite the political suicide he brought upon himself, this was the turning point that helped the county recover from earlier mistakes".
As a Commissioner he made significant changes to county government, reducing county taxes by 20 percent, reducing county personnel by 18%, merging twenty-eight county departments into six, creating the position of County Manager, an integrated county 9-1-1 system, and forming a joint city/county economic development organization. The economic development organization is most notable for the coordination and construction of The Waterfront business/commercial/residential development with Continental Real Estate-Development, on the former site of the United States Steel Homestead Works.
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