Since joining the San Diego County Board of Supervisors in 1995, Greg Cox has worked tirelessly in pursuit of one goal – to better serve the public.
A native Chula Vistan, Cox began his public service career as an educator in the Sweetwater Union High School District. He was elected first to the Chula Vista City Council and then served two terms as Mayor of Chula Vista. His expertise was tapped by the Governor when he was appointed Director of Local Government for the Office of Planning and Research. Cox also built successful businesses in the private sector, where the bottom line matters most.
As a member of the Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Cox oversees a regional government with a $4.80 billion budget, providing services for more than 3 million people. Cox’s leadership has helped move the County through comprehensive budget and management reform. The County of San Diego, the fifth largest county in the United States, is now recognized as one of the best managed urban counties in the nation and holds one of the highest credit ratings of all counties in California.
Greg Cox is the only elected official in California to have been elected by his peers to serve as both the President of the California State Association of Counties and President of the League of California Cities. Greg Cox has been acknowledged as “Legislator of the Year” by state and local organizations throughout his career.
During his tenure on the Board of Supervisors, Greg Cox helped launch our region’s Reverse 911 and AlertSanDiego mass notification systems, which were widely credited for saving lives and assisting in the mass evacuation of more than 515,000 people during the 2007 Firestorm. He has also been recognized as an instrumental leader in the development of 2-1-1 San Diego, which played a major role in providing information to fire evacuees and other residents affected by the emergency.
San Diegans have discovered that when they need help, they can dial three simple numbers that connects them to vital services. Through Supervisor Cox’s vision and unwavering support, 2-1-1 San Diego has become a vital lifeline during emergencies and the place to turn to for San Diegans who have faced difficulties during the recent economic downturn, providing information and access to more than 6,000 services and programs.
In his continuing effort to provide a health safety net to people without health insurance, last year Supervisor Cox introduced a free program that provides discounts for up to 60,000 name-brand and generic prescription drugs, along with discounts for lab and imaging tests, dental, vision, hearing services, and even medications for pets.
Supervisor Cox’s top priority is to keep our communities safe. He has taken action to combat the growing threat of identity theft and protecting children from sexual predators. Greg Cox has beefed up programs to keep young people in school, off drugs, and away from a life of crime through innovative delinquency diversion programs. He has improved neighborhoods by upgrading ball fields, libraries and community centers, and creating after-school recreation programs for kids. He worked to develop a regional strategy to fight gang violence. He actively battled polluters who flaunt public health and environmental laws.
In 2011, he led the launch of the first truly coordinated, region-wide graffiti tracking campaign to identify our area’s most prolific graffiti vandals, and make sure they are prosecuted and pay for the damages they’ve caused.
He has worked to protect vulnerable members of our society by directing more County resources towards foster children, thus substantially raising graduation rates, and by working to prevent elder abuse and prosecute those who commit it. In 2011, he launched major initiatives to provide educational resources to homeless and foster children and create a network of assistance for children being raised by their grandparents.
Supervisor Cox has championed efforts to protect the environment and conserve natural resources by creating large regional parks and preserving open space. He was the driving force in establishing the Otay Valley Regional Park, the Chula Vista Nature Center and the South San Diego Wildlife Refuge. Cox also helped launch Project Clean Water, the most comprehensive attack on stormwater pollution in regional history.
Cox co-chaired the 2011 Campaign for Active Transportation, which advocates for federal funds for projects and programs that encourage people to switch from driving to walking and bicycling, thus reducing toxic auto emissions that pollute our air. He was honored as one of 25 National “Rails to Trails” Champions for his leadership in developing regional trail systems that promote active transportation and healthy lifestyles, specifically the Bayshore Bikeway, and efforts to develop the California Coastal Trail along the entire length of San Diego County. Because of his hard work and tenacity, Greg Cox brought in millions of dollars to create more bicycle trails in the region.
Supervisor Cox has been praised by local environmental groups for his work on protecting coastal watersheds and beaches. He led a regional effort with all the coastal cities in the County to seek emergency funding to restore the Beach Quality Safety Program. When the State terminated funding for the program, Supervisor Cox flew to Sacramento to speak before the State Water Resources Board and successfully secured funding to preserve critical monitoring of our region’s beaches, bays and waterways. In 2011, Supervisor Cox’s hard work, Governor paid off when Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill to provide funding for a program to monitor the water quality at local beaches.
Supervisor Cox represents the more than 609,000 people in the vibrant, multi-cultural neighborhoods of the First District, which extends from the Pacific Ocean in the West to the Otay and San Miguel mountains in the east and from the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma to the U.S./Mexico international border.
In recognition of his knowledge and expertise in local government, Supervisor Cox has been elected and appointed to serve in leadership roles on numerous regional, statewide and national organizations. He serves on the boards of the National Association of Counties, the California Association of Counties (CSAC) and is the Vice Chairman of the Institute for Local Government. He is President of the CSAC Finance Corp., Vice Chair of the Urban Counties Caucus, a member of the Policy Board of San Diego Workforce Partnership, a member of the Public Safety Committee and Borders Committee of the San Diego Association of Governments. He is a founding director of the U.S./Mexico Border Counties Coalition and he was elected by his colleagues to the Board of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. The Supervisor is a founding member of the Chula Vista Veterans Home Support Foundation, active in numerous charities and is a ten-gallon hat donor to the San Diego Blood Bank, having given more than 100 pints of blood to earn that disctintion.
A graduate of Chula Vista schools, Greg Cox received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in education administration from San Diego State University. His wife of 36 years, Cheryl Cox, currently serves as Mayor of the City of Chula Vista. Together, they are committed to public service and are enormously proud that they have instilled in their two adult daughters, Elizabeth and Emily, the importance of serving the community.