John Joseph Cranley (born February 28, 1974) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 69th Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio from 2013 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a member of the Cincinnati City Council and a partner of City Lights Development. Cranley is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard Divinity School and co-founder of the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Before his election as mayor, he was an attorney with the law firm of Keating Muething & Klekamp. He was a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2022 Ohio gubernatorial election, losing the primary to former Dayton, Ohio mayor Nan Whaley.
John Cranley | |
|---|---|
 Cranley at an FC Cincinnati event in 2018 | |
| 69th Mayor of Cincinnati | |
| In office December 1, 2013 – January 4, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Mallory |
| Succeeded by | Aftab Pureval |
| Member of the Cincinnati City Council | |
| In office 2000–2009 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Joseph Cranley February 28, 1974 Green Township, Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Dena Cranley |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | John Carroll University (BA) Harvard University (MTS, JD) |
Background
editCranley was born in Green Township to John Joseph "Jay" Cranley (born 1946) and his wife, Susan (born 1947). His father is a life estate planner and Vietnam veteran who served in the United States Army, and his mother a former teacher and librarian. Cranley was raised in the Price Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati.[1] He attended St. William's Primary School and graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1992. He graduated from John Carroll University magna cum laude in Philosophy and Political Science and served twice as student body president. He earned his JD (Juris Doctor) from Harvard Law School and a Master of Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School. He taught two undergraduate legal and philosophy courses at Harvard College while attending graduate school. During his second and third years at Harvard Law School, he worked as a student attorney for people who could not afford legal counsel. In his third year of law school, he was elected First Class Marshal and delivered the Harvard Law School graduation speech on behalf of his class.[2] In 2019 and again in 2021, Cranley was voted reader pick for "Best Conservative" in Cincinnati CityBeat's annual Best of Cincinnati.[3]
Cincinnati City Council
editCranley served on city council from 2000 to 2009.[4] In 2003, he led the push to create Tax Increment Finance districts in Cincinnati.[5] Cranley served on the following committees: Arts, Culture, Tourism & Marketing; Economic Development; Law and Public Safety; and the Transportation & Infrastructure sub-committee. Cranley resigned from City Council in 2009 in order to avoid any potential conflicts after seeking advice from the Ohio Ethics Commission.[6]
Incline District development
editCranley worked to restore the historic Incline District of East Price Hill. He developed a $5 million project which consists of condominiums and a restaurant.[7]
Ohio Innocence Project
editIn 2002, Cranley co-founded the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and served as administrative director from 2002 to 2006. As of March 2019, the Project had exonerated 28 wrongly convicted individuals.[8] Cranley's argument before Ohio's 5th Appellate District Court led to the 2006 reversal of Christopher Lee Bennett's conviction of aggravated vehicular homicide. Bennett had served four years of a nine-year sentence before the Project was able to use DNA to help overturn his conviction.[9]
Political campaigns
editIn 2000 and 2006, Cranley lost in Ohio's 1st congressional district race to incumbent Steve Chabot, with 45% of the vote in 2000, and 48% of the vote in 2006.
Cranley won the September 2013 primary election for mayor of Cincinnati, defeating Roxanne Qualls in the November 2013 mayoral election.[10][11] He was sworn in on December 1, 2013.
Cranley ran for reelection in the 2017 Cincinnati mayoral election. His leading opponent was Yvette Simpson[12][13][14] according to a poll sponsored by Simpson.[15] Following a close mayoral race Cranley won reelection as Mayor of the City of Cincinnati for a second term ending in December 2021.[16] Cranley was term limited to two terms.
Because Cranley was term limited as mayor, he was mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for governor of Ohio in 2022. In February 2020, Cranley became the first candidate to announce and explore a possible run for governor in 2022 against Republican incumbent Mike DeWine.[17] He officially entered the race for the 2022 Democratic nomination for governor on August 10, 2021.[18]
In his campaign, he criticized the Ohio Republican Party for rigging elections through gerrymandering and for corrupt legislation like HB6, which led to the Ohio nuclear bribery scandal.[19]
Additional service
editMayor Cranley previously served on the boards of the Freestore Foodbank, Mercy Hospital Foundation, and the Jesuit Spiritual Center.[20] Cranley was named a 2014 Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow.[21]
References
edit- ^ John Cranley profile, fox19.com; accessed April 21, 2014.
- ^ "Full Biography for John Cranley". Retrieved 2017-06-13.
- ^ "Best Conservative". Retrieved 2022-04-24.
- ^ Cincinnati City Council website; accessed April 21, 2014.
- ^ "TIF districts set to spur development". Retrieved 2013-02-06.
- ^ "Cranley to resign from Cincinnati City Council". Retrieved 2013-11-11.
- ^ "Cranley to sever ties with Incline Village". April 3, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
- ^ "Evin King Released as OIP Celebrates #25". Retrieved 2017-04-20.
- ^ "Second Man Earns Freedom as Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Ohio Innocence Project". Retrieved 2013-02-06.
- ^ Cincinnati mayoral primary: Cranley sweeps past Qualls by 2,000 votes Archived 2013-09-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Cranley elected next mayor of Cincinnati". Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
- ^ Wilkinson, Howard (August 10, 2016). "Yvette Simpson Launches 2017 Mayoral Campaign To Unseat Cranley". WVXU. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
- ^ Swartsell, Nick (August 17, 2016). "Mayoral race underlines rift among Cincinnati Democrats". Cincinnati CityBeat. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
- ^ Williams, Jason (February 16, 2017). "Cincinnati mayor's race is set". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ Wetterich, Chris (March 6, 2017). "EXCLUSIVE: Yvette Simpson has a poll in the Cincinnati mayor's race. Here's what it says". Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
- ^ "WCPO: 2017 Mayoral Race Results: John Cranley wins race for second term". Retrieved 2017-12-14.
- ^ "Cranley exploring run for Ohio governor in 2022 - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
- ^ "Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley enters Ohio governor's race". Associated Press. 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ "John Cranley | Ohio | Democrat for Governor". John Cranley. Archived from the original on 2022-02-20. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
- ^ "Facebook: Mayor John Cranley: Personal Information". Facebook. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
- ^ "Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowship Class of 2014". Archived from the original on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
External links
edit
- Campaign website Archived 2022-01-06 at the Wayback Machine