During their administration Mike Dawida and Bob Cranmer 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.
[11][12] 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."
[14][15] 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.
"[15][16] In 1999 he ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for County Executive, losing to Cyril Wecht, who subsequently lost to Republican Jim Roddey in the general election.