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Allegheny County: Cannon registers as independent
Saturday, May 01, 1999 By Mark Belko, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
All of the sudden, the Allegheny County Courthouse -- long the bastion of partisan politics, mostly Democratic -- seems to be going independent, at least in some of the top ranks.
Former Republican Commissioner Bob Cranmer, who decided earlier this year not to run in the GOP primary for executive, changed his registration to independent April 15, giving him the option of running as a third party candidate in the fall.
It turns out he wasn't alone. County Manager Glenn Cannon, a top confidant to Cranmer, switched his registration from Democrat, his affiliation since 1975, to independent April 19, the deadline for making such a change.
Cannon, the city's former public safety director, had been rumored as a possible candidate for executive last year, but repeatedly doused the speculation. By changing his registration, he, like Cranmer, still has a chance to mount a candidacy.
Cranmer and Cannon have become allies since Cannon joined the county in January 1996 to head the Kane nursing homes. He later was selected by Cranmer and Republican Commissioner Larry Dunn to be the county's first manager.
While Cannon has remained tight with Cranmer, his relations with Dunn have soured. In August 1997, Cranmer teamed with Democratic Commissioner Mike Dawida to oust Dunn as chairman and run the county government.
Dunn is running against businessman Jim Roddey in the Republican primary for executive, fueling speculation that Cranmer -- and now perhaps Cannon -- may run should Dunn upset Roddey, who is ahead in the polls. They also could run for county council, either at large or in their districts.
Cranmer refused to discuss his reason for changing, but said he wasn't running for anything. Cannon was just as mum about his motives.
"It was a personal decision that I really don't believe is newsworthy," he said through Communications Director Margaret Philbin.
A spokesman for Dunn, who expressed suspicions about the reason for Cranmer's switch, yesterday ridiculed the decisions of Cranmer and Cannon to register as independents.
"Cranmer and Cannon have become so irrelevant it's not worth him commenting on," spokesman John DelSignore said. "Cannon has joined Cranmer in his irrelevancy. It doesn't mean anything."
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