Bob Cranmer - New County Government and Legacy

New County Government and Legacy

He led an effort to establish home rule in Allegheny County, which created the position of County Executive and County Council after coming to the conclusion that a new structure of government was needed. This initiative was based upon a study set into motion by former county commissioners Tom Foerster and Pete Flaherty in 1995. They had established a committee chaired by the then Chancellor of Duquesne University, John E. Murray, Jr. called "ComPAC 21", (The Committee to Prepare Allegheny County for the 21st Century). Their report laid the plan for a completely new organizational structure of county government. He also initiated the creation of the Allegheny County Airport Authority to manage the Pittsburgh International Airport in a more effective, professional manner.

During their administration Mike Dawida and Bob Cranmer also oversaw the rehabilitation and restoration of the famed Henry Hobson Richardson Allegheny County Jail designed in the late 1800s. The vacant and deteriorating structure was converted to house the new combined home of the juvenile and adult family sections of Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. The $46 million spent on the renovation project was nearly 23 times the original cost of both of the Richardsonian Romanesque masterpieces, the jail and county courthouse.

Cranmer and Mike Dawida worked cooperatively to achieve their city-county goals, and as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette put it: "The partnership held strong through decisions that got county government back on track."

The combined leadership of Cranmer, Dawida, and Mayor Tom Murphy (Thomas J. Murphy, Jr.) led to a building boom in Pittsburgh dubbed “Renaissance III” that was a catalyst for how the city would be viewed a decade later when it was selected to host the 2009 G-20 summit, led by President Barack Obama. The Post-Gazette commented in 1998 that Allegheny County Commissioners Bob Cranmer and Mike Dawida understand the importance of a strong urban core and, through their partnership, have helped the mayor find ways to do what lesser leadership would considerable unthinkable. It is a meeting of such focused minds and willing spirits that stands to take Pittsburgh into a new era. Call it Renaissance III or call it just a better place to live, this is the blueprint of a renewable city that more people will be proud to call home.”

Cranmer's tenure in office had an impact upon the size, structure, and cost of county government. The Post-Gazette would later sum up his time in office with the following when he announced that he would not seek reelection: "By thinning the field and working toward the day when Republicans have a single alternative to the policies of ill-conceived tax cuts, reactionary thinking and government-as-usual, Commissioner Cranmer has made the ultimate political sacrifice. If that is the mark of a citizen-lawmaker – to be honest, to spurn patronage, to reform the public sector and then get out – this commissioner has been one such leader. Allegheny County could use a few more Bob Cranmers." He was followed in office by Jim Roddey, the first Allegheny County Executive. Papers and associated historical records concerning Cranmer's term in office are filed at the Heinz History Center, (archival storage) in Pittsburgh.

He worked for several firms after leaving office (in government relations) and in July 2009 he established "Cranmer Consultants", a government and legislative affairs company. In 2000, Cranmer was inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution after he traced his lineage back to Noahdiah Cranmer who fought in the American Revolutionary War, and served as president of the Pittsburgh chapter for two years.