Sharon Coolidge

scoolidge@enquirer.com

Peanut butter toast with apple slices at 7 a.m.

That's the breakfast Mayor John Cranley fed his 5-year-old son last Monday, smearing peanut butter on a slice of wheat bread for himself, too.

It was the quietest part of a day that included welcoming two new hires, an update on whether Cincinnati was ready for post-Ferguson decisions, a ribbon-cutting at dunnhumby's Downtown parking garage and a first look at the cost of the streetcar project he once declared "was never going to happen."

In all, Cranley met with more than 50 people before heading home for a dinner of keftah and fattoush, seasoned beef and salad from his wife's family's homeland of Jordan.

And this was a light day because of City Council's Thanksgiving week break.

Sworn in as Cincinnati's 69th mayor one year ago Monday, Cranley's take-charge style and focus has earned him admiration for being a guy who gets things done.

The Democratic mayor has reached across party lines to create bipartisan coalitions on projects including streetcar operating costs and pension negotiations. Collaboration has been especially important because Republican council members are in charge of the budget and transportation committees – two key groups controlling the city's future.

Cranley doesn't always with agree with council, but he has not yet exercised veto power granted under the city's charter. Even so, the mayor's sometimes brusque style and impatience for items that interfere with his own agenda can be off-putting to people whose support he needs on projects.

Some Democratic council members have complained that he rushes proposals through. They say too little time was spent discussing the deal to bring General Electric's global operations center to The Banks and on several bike projects.

Critics aside, Cranley, 40, is comfortable in a role that's both policy leader and public face of a city undergoing a resurgence that's grabbing national attention. He's helped add 5,000 jobs, killed a plan to privatize parking, passed the city's first structurally balanced budget in years and brought the city's police force back up to a complement of more than 1,000.

"The city is moving in the right direction," he said, "but there is still a lot of work to do. I am working every day to get things moving."

His biggest disappointment: that council put the 3.6-mile streetcar back on track. Time has not made the heart grow fonder. "I'm very happy with the way things turned out in many areas," he said. "There is some consolation that there is private money involved and a better operating plan. But in the big picture, we would have been better without it."

Cranley agreed to let The Enquirer shadow him last Monday, from daybreak to day's end, to get a window into a world that only his family and closest advisers usually see. He requested only that we agree to go "off the record" on projects he's not yet ready to announce, then later relented even on some of those.

Throughout our 14 hours together, Cranley allowed only one break: Nine minutes of questioning from this reporter, a minute to check E-Trade and the few moments he spent securing a reservation at Oakley's Red Feather restaurant for his eighth wedding anniversary Tuesday night. (Even the mayor can't get a last-minute reservation at the Cincinnatian, although he never said he was the mayor.)

5:30 a.m.: Start of a 17-hour day

Cranley got an earlier-than-usual-start when his son woke up at 5:30 a.m. That meant we found the mayor, at the designated 7 a.m. start time at his Hyde Park house, dressed for work. His wife, Dena Cranley, coming in from the gym, assured us he'd typically be wearing ripped shorts with his hair sticking up.

The newspaper was spread out on the table. He's a thorough reader, not afraid to share his opinion with the city's reporters. He reserved any ire for another day.

Dena Cranley said life after the mayoral win has been a whirlwind.

"There's been two big adjustments," she said. The first is that their "social" calendar is now about work; the second is adjusting the family-work balance.

"He is constantly pulled in a lot of directions," Dena Cranley said. "Family is important to me. Joseph is at an age where he needs a male role model. If John is gone three nights in a row, I say, 'You're not going out again.' "

School drop-off time – with a personal rule of no phone calls allowed during the drive – was followed by a trip from his Hyde Park home through Eden Park to Downtown. Unlike his predecessor, Mark Mallory, Cranley doesn't have a bodyguard or driver. Instead, he operates his own hybrid Toyota Camry or hops on a Cincy Red Bike.

Cranley pointed out the old Baldwin Piano building, which sits mostly empty on Eden Drive, that's about to be developed into apartments. "This is the kind of thing I want to keep doing," Cranley said.

He typically spends this drive time on the phone with Chief of Staff Jay Kincaid to check on schedule changes and pop-up emergencies, or with best friend and behind-the-scenes adviser Elliot Ruther, head of development at Cincinnati State.

Kincaid and Ruther are Cranley's most trusted advisers. Kincaid ran his mayoral campaign and met Cranley while they worked for the Ohio Innocence Project. Cranley and Ruther, while students at St. Xavier High School, took a mission trip to the Dominican Republic that shaped Cranley's perspective on social justice.

9 a.m.: Weekly debriefing

As Cranley walked into his office, Kincaid, Deputy Chief of Staff Bobbi Dillon and Communications Director Kevin Osborne slid into seats around a conference table for the Monday morning "look ahead." They shut the door.

The 13 topics ranged from development and Cranley's upcoming schedule at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., in January to a push for a Banks entertainment district, which would allow people to carry drinks on the streets between businesses.

Talk then turned to the Hand-Up Initiative, Cranley's passion project of putting 4,000 people to work.

At 9:45 a.m., City Manager Harry Black popped in with the city's two new department heads for a mayoral welcome.

Cranley is excited that Black picked Paula Boggs Muething as city solicitor. The two are longtime friends, and he respects her legal acumen. Black's selection of Oscar Bedolla as development director gets at Cranley's desire to hire people with visionary thinking.

At 10:10 a.m., Assistant City Solicitor Luke Blocher came in with a request from a developer who wanted a 30-day extension.

Cranley: "No. If you give a developer nine months, they won't do anything for six months."

A half-hour later, at the same table, Assistant City Manager Bill Moller gave Cranley a parking update. The city is getting more meters.

Moller suggested adding six part-time meter-enforcement officers to the current, already-bulked-up staff of 10. No decision was made, but Cranley reminded him: "I just want those meters in. We're leaving money on the table."

11 a.m.: Ribbons and hard hats

At 10:55 a.m., Osborne whisked Cranley over to the dunnhumby Centre, under construction at Fifth and Race streets, for a press conference and ribbon-cutting to open the garage. The moment was not inconsequential: Downtown needs the parking, and Fifth Street is reopening to full traffic flow.

One of Cranley's biggest pet peeves is Downtown traffic back-ups, of which there are plenty.

To an audience of about 100, Cranley recounted the trouble the city had developing the lot that once was slated for a Nordstrom and then left as a concrete parking pad for a decade.

"Here we are in 2014; it was worth the wait," Cranley said. "Dunnhumby USA is a company of the future."

At 11:45 a.m., Cranley was off to lunch with Black and the new hires at Jean Robert's Table. First, he stopped in at the Booksellers on Fountain Square to pick up Station Eleven, a novel that chronicles a post-apocalyptic society working to preserve culture.

Cranley is an avid reader, and he took a minute to talk to the clerk about what he's recently read and what he should add to his list.

Noon break: Running, reading (briefly)

Lunch offered a reprieve from business talk. Cranley talked about books and running – he tries to get out three times a week, but it isn't easy – and his new television obsession, "Boss," starring Kelsey Grammer as a ruthless Chicago mayor. Everybody admits Netflix political drama "House of Cards" is addicting.

The afternoon kicked off with a 1 p.m. meeting of the county's Transportation Improvement District. Cranley is a voting member but often sends his office's external relations director in his place.

Controversial bike trails were on the agenda, and the media was expecting political fireworks. Simply put, the meeting was a tedious exercise filled with mundane project updates from members. Cranley said little; bike trail talk came and left with no change.

It was mercifully over on time.

At 2:26 p.m., incoming Ohio Speaker of the House Cliff Rosenberger, a Republican from Clarksville, in Clinton County, called Cranley on his cellphone to talk about the proposed entertainment district at The Banks. It won't be in place by Opening Day, but supporters are hopeful it can be approved by the All-Star Game in July.

3 p.m.: Ferguson plans

Dave Laing, Cranley's legislative affairs director, police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell, Lt. Col. James Whalen, and Greg Baker, director of the Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence, stopped in to discuss the anti-violence program that Cranley revived.

First, Blackwell gave a quick overview of the city's tactical plan for the Ferguson decision. It was detailed and mindful of Cincinnati's 2001 riot, which happened while Cranley was on City Council.

Cranley: "This brings back a lot of bad memories."

Baker: "Cincinnati is different; there were so many issues swirling around, (the police shooting) was a match to the flame."

Cranley: "We're in a much better place. Back then, the ministers were marching on City Hall; now they're marching arm and arm with the police against violence in our neighborhoods."

As the group left, Cranley worked to find the dinner reservation.

At 3:30 p.m., Wasson Way bike trail advocates came in armed with research. The issue of whether to keep rail in place while building the five-mile bike path through Hyde Park, Oakley and Evanston has made headlines in recent days.

Cranley is working to buy the needed land and is trying to rein in costs. The grassroots group had the first cost estimates. Cranley wants the project, but he won't overpay.

Options two and three of three presented prompted Cranley to say: "No way, I'm not going to pay that. That's crazy."

Kincaid stopped in to discuss Over-the-Rhine liquor license issues. Cranley leaves the details to Kincaid, but suffice it to say a new restaurant isn't going to open without a bar.

Leaders of People Working Cooperatively were next up at the conference table, at 4 p.m. The group that helps the elderly and veterans stay in their homes with repair help had to take a $150,000 cut – less than 1 percent of its budget – during the recent round of grant decisions.

Hundreds of supporters poured into City Council chambers to fight the cuts. Cranley wasn't happy with the group's framing the issue as "us vs. Hand-Up."

Still, the group does important work in this city of old homes, and a working relationship with City Hall is imperative.

Cranley checked in at home. He agreed to tailor a Happy Hour meet-and-greet with a minority developer around picking up Joseph from music class.

At 5 p.m., Cranley was on a minority inclusion mission. Evans Nwankwo, CEO of Megen Construction, related to Cranley his path from childhood in Nigeria to owning a business in Cincinnati. His company worked on the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and Washington Park, and he's looking for more city work.

Cranley's economic inclusion program – which tries to remove institutional barriers to level the playing field for smaller firms – is a perfect fit for Megen. Cranley texted staff to make sure it is part of the program.

6 p.m.: Headed home, but work not done

At 6:15 p.m., it was a rush to music class pick-up, where no parent can be late – not even one leading a city of 300,000 people.

Joseph sang part of "Twelve Days of Christmas" for his dad.

The Cranleys try to eat dinner together every night – no TV, no phones – even if it's at 7 p.m., like this day.

Back home at that hour, Dena Cranley had dinner ready. The meal sparked talk of the Cranleys' Sister City trip to Munich and Jordan over the summer. They got out the photo album. It was Cranley's only vacation since taking office last year – and even then it was mostly a working one.

Kincaid said that's just how Cranley is: constant meetings, constant thinking about how to make things better.

At 8 p.m., the text alerts arrived that the Ferguson grand jury's decision was imminent. But Cranley was mindful of his family, not breaking news. He put Joseph to bed – including brushing teeth, pajamas and "Curious George in the Snow."

Cranley heard the Ferguson decision at 9 p.m. His immediate thoughts turned to what that city can learn from Cincinnati, which took a collaborative approach after the 2001 riots. But he knows the work isn't done.

"We have to keep working on police-community relations so we don't go back to a place we don't want to be." And then he checked in with Black, the city manager.

Things were calm that night. But Cranley would speak to protesters the next night and monitor their march through the city all through his anniversary dinner.

Mayor Cranley's first year in office

On finances

•Passed first city budget in nearly a decade that balances revenue with expenditures – without relying on one-time fixes.

•Scrapped an unpopular parking plan that would have turned over city control of the system to a private company.

•Passed a streetcar operating plan that relies on parking revenue and development proceeds from neighborhood improvements – and doesn't cut into the city's operating expenses.

On jobs, economic development

•General Electric Co. picked The Banks as the site for its global operations center, bringing 1,800 jobs Downtown.

•Mercy Health located its headquarters in Bond Hill, keeping 400 Mercy employees in the city and adding another 600 from outside Cincinnati.

•Cincinnati Bell moved 600 jobs Downtown.

On other development deals

•Supported construction of a 233-space parking garage and 142 rental units in Corryville.

•Supported construction of a parking garage at Seventh and Sycamore streets for a future Holiday Inn.

•Worked with Tom + Chee – a grilled-cheese restaurant chain that's become one of the city's most successful startups – to keep 65 jobs at a new headquarters Downtown.

•Worked with Kroger to add 200 jobs in Oakley.

•Worked with the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation to acquire and rehabilitate properties in Walnut Hills and East Walnut Hills, which neighborhood leaders think "will spark further development."

•Worked with Huntington Bank to bring 45 jobs to Cincinnati.

On improving public safety

•Added 80 new police officers to a force now numbering more than 1,000.

•Worked with the fire department to reduce brownouts, which should end completely next year.

On improving minority inclusion

Initiated a disparity study to detail past discrimination and lead to improved inclusion of race and gender in contracting decisions.

Created a minority inclusion task force to involve minority businesses in economic development deals.

Year 2 priorities

•Continue working to reduce crime.

•Create more jobs, especially for the long-term unemployed.

•Increase street paving and address neglected public infrastructure.

One regret

•Cranley had hoped the quarter-cent sales-tax increase approved by voters to fund repairs to Union Terminal had included Music Hall, as originally planned.