John Cranley
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John Joseph Cranley (born February 28, 1974) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 69th Mayor of
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
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 Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
and
Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the religious studies, academic study of religion or for leadership role ...
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 The 2022 Ohio gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Ohio. Incumbent Ohio Republican Party, Republican governor Mike DeWine won re-election to a second term in a Landslide victory, landslide, defeating ...
, losing the primary to former
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
mayor Nan Whaley.


Background

Cranley 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. He attended St. William's Primary School and graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1992. He graduated from
John Carroll University John Carroll University (JCU) is a Private university, private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio, United States. Located in a suburb of Cleveland, it is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts college, liberal arts institution compo ...
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
in Philosophy and Political Science and served twice as student body president. He earned his JD (Juris Doctor) from
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
and a
Master of Theological Studies The Master of Arts (MA) in a religious discipline is a graduate degree, offered in seminary or other graduate school, which gives students a basic understanding in theological disciplines. It is often pursued by individuals interested in academi ...
from the
Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the religious studies, academic study of religion or for leadership role ...
. 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. In 2019 and again in 2021, Cranley was voted reader pick for "Best Conservative" in Cincinnati CityBeat's annual Best of Cincinnati.


Cincinnati City Council

Cranley served on city council from 2000 to 2009. In 2003, he led the push to create Tax Increment Finance districts in Cincinnati. 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.


Incline District development

Cranley worked to restore the historic Incline District of East Price Hill. He developed a $5 million project which consists of condominiums and a restaurant.


Ohio Innocence Project

In 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. 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.


Political campaigns

In 2000 and 2006, Cranley lost in
Ohio's 1st congressional district Ohio's 1st congressional district is represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Greg Landsman. The district includes the city of Cincinnati, all of Warren County, Ohio, Warren County and borders the state of Kentucky. This distr ...
race to incumbent
Steve Chabot Steven Joseph Chabot ( ; born January 22, 1953) is an American politician and lawyer who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2009 and again from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party (United States), R ...
, 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 The mayor of Cincinnati is recognized as the official head and representative of the city for all purposes. There have been seventy-six mayors of Cincinnati. The first mayor was David Ziegler, who took office in 1802. The current mayor is Aftab ...
, defeating Roxanne Qualls in the November 2013 mayoral election. He was sworn in on December 1, 2013. Cranley ran for reelection in the 2017 Cincinnati mayoral election. His leading opponent was Yvette Simpson according to a poll sponsored by Simpson. Following a close mayoral race Cranley won reelection as Mayor of the City of Cincinnati for a second term ending in December 2021. 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 A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
in
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
against Republican incumbent
Mike DeWine Richard Michael DeWine ( ; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th List of governors of Ohio, governor of Ohio since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served a ...
. He officially entered the race for the 2022 Democratic nomination for governor on August 10, 2021. 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 The Ohio nuclear bribery scandal is a political scandal in Ohio involving allegations that electric utility company FirstEnergy paid roughly $60 million to Generation Now, a 501(c)(4) organization purportedly controlled by Speaker of the Ohio House ...
.


Additional service

Mayor Cranley previously served on the boards of the Freestore Foodbank, Mercy Hospital Foundation, and the Jesuit Spiritual Center. Cranley was named a 2014
Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but also has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, its original home. Its stated miss ...
Rodel Fellow.


References


External links


Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cranley, John 1974 births 21st-century mayors of places in Ohio Cincinnati City Council members Harvard Divinity School alumni Harvard Law School alumni Innocence Project John Carroll University alumni Living people Mayors of Cincinnati Ohio Democrats Ohio lawyers St. Xavier High School (Ohio) alumni Wrongful conviction advocacy