Cox was first elected to the
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in 1992 and served until 1998. Cox also served on the
KVIE board as well as the
Sacramento Municipal Utility District board. In 1994 Cox made an unsuccessful run for the then-6th Senate district in 1994 against veteran State Senator
Leroy F. Greene. Cox was then elected to the
California State Assembly, representing the
5th District from December 1998 to December 2004, and served as the Assembly
Republican Leader from March 2000 through January 2004. In 2004, Cox successfully ran again for the
state Senate, this time in the
1st district. His district included all or portions of
Alpine,
Amador,
Calaveras,
El Dorado,
Lassen,
Placer,
Plumas,
Modoc,
Mono,
Nevada,
Sacramento and
Sierra Counties. He served on the following Senate committees: • Local Government (Chair) • Appropriations (Vice Chair) • Banking, Finance and Insurance • Energy, Utilities and Communications • Health Cox was named as the "Outstanding Senator for 2007" by the California State Sheriffs' Association. Cox earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from the
University of San Diego in 1961 and a master's degree from
Golden Gate University in 1983. He was married with three children, and lived in
Fair Oaks. Cox was re-elected to his second and last Senate term in 2008 with over 60% of the vote. Cox died in office on July 13, 2010, following a thirteen-year-long battle with
prostate cancer. ==References==