Sen. Dave Cox has come a long way from the hills of Tonkawa, Okla., where his life began, but the values that were instilled in him there as a child serve him well in California’s Capitol.

“Your word is your bond,” said Cox, R-Fair Oaks.

His staff describes him as “trustworthy, dependable and someone with good judgement.”

“This was the easiest decision I ever had to make,” said Peter DeMarco of his decision to work as Cox’s communications director. “This job requires a significant amount of hard work and long hours. The experience is well worth the sacrifice when other Capitol staffers tell you unsolicited, ‘you’re working for a good guy.’ “

Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Sacramento, said Cox and he have been good friends for more than 25 years. Niello had a business relationship with Cox when Cox was in insurance and he was an automobile dealer.

“As an insurance agent, Dave was one of the most hard working, disciplined and reliable salesmen I ever knew — and I had known a lot,” Niello said. “That reliability as well as his integrity has earned him the respect and even affection of his colleagues, even those with whom he might profoundly disagree.”

Born in 1938, Cox left Oklahoma in 1956 to live in Lancaster. He attended Antelope Valley Community College where he played basketball, baseball and football. He followed his coach to the University of San Diego where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business. He went on to earn a master’s degree from Golden Gate University and went a few years to law school before he decided that it wasn’t his “cup of tea.”

Cox and his wife, Maggie married in 1966. They have lived in their Fair Oaks home since 1976. They have three grown daughters and five grandchildren. Maggie runs the family insurance business and Cox said she’s been very supportive of him.

“Maggie definitely has her own opinions about everything,” Cox said. “She sometimes tells you about them quietly and sometimes, not so quietly.”

Cox’s business career took off when he served as KVIE public television station’s finance director. He then served on Sacramento Municipal Utilities District’s Board of Supervisors. Cox was elected to the State Assembly and served three terms. He also served as the Assembly’s Republican leader for nearly three years.

“You have to have the heart to serve,” Cox said. “And be willing to put in the time necessary to get the job done. You have to have a vision and be able to articulate the vision. Then you have to have the ability to keep everyone moving in the same direction.”

Cox said that 95 percent of the time, both parties agree on what bills need to pass.

“It’s the other 5 percent of the time that we have significant philosophical differences about what government should be,” Cox said. “I tend to believe, like Jefferson said, that a government that is smaller tends to serve better. The other side of the isle believes bigger is better, that we have to solve everyone’s problems.”

Taking care of those who can’t take care of themselves is still a responsibility of government, Cox said. But he believes all others should take responsibility of themselves.

Debra Ortiz, D-Sacramento, said in e-mail that she disagrees most of the time with Cox, “politically and philosophically,” but they have worked together many times on flood control legislation and to protect the Sacramento region.

“Sen. Cox also supported my legislation, signed into law in 2000, to guarantee Cal Grants for all college students who meet the grade and financial need criteria,” Ortiz said.

She was disappointed this year when he voted against a bill that she authored to bring public accountability to the more than 4,000 special districts that conduct most of their business “largely out of the public’s eye.”

“I introduced SB 393 because of a situation that occurred in the Sacramento Suburban water district in our area,” Ortiz said. “The district was found to have misspent more than $800,000 on questionable expenses for senior management staff and board members. Although the bill was approved by the Senate Local Government Committee on April 20, I was sorry that Sen. Cox voted against it.”

A big issue in the new right now is the influence that religion has on politics. Cox, a Christian, belongs to the Episcopal Church, and said his religion does help him at his job.

“It helps you with your core values, with who you are and what you believe,” Cox said.

Niello said that Cox certainly is influenced by a strong set of values, but he doesn’t “wear his religion on his sleeve.”

“The influence is somewhat silent,” Niello said. “He does not preach — at least not spiritually. If he does preach, it is about the issue and his opinion. And as to that, he is anything but circumspect.”

But Cox’s biggest challenge right now he said is getting the budget under control.

“We’re spending more money than we’re bringing in,” Cox said. “Every portion of the budget dollar has a constituent. People say you can cut the budget just as long as you don’t cut them.”

Cox said that the job market is another area California needs help improving.

“We need to get California moving back in the right direction for economics,” Cox said. “We need to create a place where business and commerce can thrive in a global economy.”

Quality of life for California’s citizens is dependent upon them being able to work, Cox said.

“To have jobs, you have to have a place where people want to do business,” Cox said. “If you don’t have a job, you can’t have a good quality of life.”

The housing market is another area that Cox believes has too much bureaucracy.

“We have greater demand than supply and constraints … costs that are added on by government before you even break ground,” Cox said. “We have a structural deficit relative to home building.”

District 1 stretches from the Oregon border on the north, to Mammoth Lakes on the south, and has approximately 850,000 residents. It encompasses Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Plumas and Sierra Counties, as well as portions of Nevada, Placer and Sacramento Counties.

“It’s a rare Friday that we’re not out traveling in one of our counties talking to people about their specific needs,” Cox said. “Sometimes you can be of assistance and sometimes you can’t.”

Cox said he supports term limits but would like to amend the law to make it a little more flexible.

“This is a learning process,” Cox said. “Experience does count. The longer you’re here the more you can get done. You build relationships.”

He said he would like to see a person be able to spend 14 to 16 years in either the assembly or the senate. Right now, only two terms each are allowed. Many in the assembly, once they’ve served two years, run for the senate.

Cox talks very seriously about the issues, but when he talks about his family and friends, he brightens up and his tone becomes light.

Niello said that Cox has a “great and sometimes mischievous sense of humor.” Niello attended many public hearings when Cox was a Sacramento supervisor. At the meetings the two would both carry their laptops.

“He would e-mail me out of the blue if someone said something he didn’t like, or if I misspoke, of maybe if he was temporarily bored,” said Niello. That would usually stimulate a response from me (rarely serious) which would then result in a fun stream of ‘back and forths.'”

Cox’s three daughters all graduated from public California Universities.

“I appreciate that the price increases have occurred and we’ve had price increases happen in many areas,” Cox said. “But the reality is it’s still the best value in the nation compared to cost per unit. And there are lots of grant programs that aren’t being taken advantage of on an annual basis.”

Cox said he was “very impressed” with Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez.

“I think he’s going to be able to do great things at Sac State,” Cox said. “I’m encouraged that he wants to have a good, well-rounded athletic program coupled with academics. Sac State is a great asset in this community and it doesn’t have nearly the profile that it ought to have.”

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