David Kranich

David William Kranich (born April 30, 1972[1]) is an American real estate agent and businessman. He ran for mayor of the District of Columbia in 2006.

Raised in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, Kranich graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in marketing.[2] After moving to Washington, D.C., in 1994, he started a business selling, delivering, and setting up Christmas trees to people's homes.[2] Kranich also started a company called Kranich Consumer Products that sold a bottled smoothie drink made from strawberries, oranges, and bananas, which he called Kranich's Fruitful Daze.[2] When sales of Christmas trees slowed in 2001, Kranich became a real estate agent.[2]

In 2006, Kranich declared his candidacy for mayor of the District of Columbia. Albert Ceccone and Dennis Moore both gathered signatures to run on the ballot as well, but after a challenge by Kranich, the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics declared many of the signatures invalid.[3][4] Consequently, neither Ceccone nor Moore had enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot, and only Kranich's name appeared as running for mayor on the Republican primary ballot.[5] Kranich received 65% of the primary vote, giving him a place on the general election ballot.[6][7]

Kranich favored a limited role for the government, believing that crime cameras, earlier youth curfews, and gun-buyback programs should not be used to reduce crime rates. He also supported the repeal of the District's law banning handguns because he believed it has not reduced the crime rate.[8] Kranich supported cutting income, sales, and property taxes, which he believed would make it more affordable for people to live in the District.[4][9] While personally against abortion, Kranich supported keeping abortion legal.[8] In order to improve education in the District, Kranich supported combining schools with low enrollments and asking the Council to allow the mayor to appoint the members of the Board of Education.[2][8][9] Kranich favored full representation in the House of Representatives for the District.[9]

Running as a Republican in a city where less than 8% of voters are registered as Republicans,[10] coverage of Kranich's candidacy was sparse in local newspapers.[11][12] On November 2, 2006, Washington Post Radio aired a debate between Kranich, Statehood-Green candidate, Chris Otten, and Democratic nominee Adrian Fenty.[13]

In the general election, Kranich received 6% of the vote and was defeated by Fenty who received 89% of the vote.[14]

In 2007, Kranich held the position of vice chair of the Ward 2 Republicans and was also an alternate delegate in the Republican primary for Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.[15] In 2008, Kranich was a member serving on the executive committee of the District of Columbia Republican Committee.[16]