Dave Cobb

Short Bio:

My name is Dave Cobb. I have lived in Valdez for the last 30 years with my wife of 45 years, Jean. We have raised two daughters, Jenny and Shannon and are the proud grandparents of 5 grandsons and I granddaughter. I have been employed by Valdez Fisheries for those same 30 years. I have served the community as both a City Councilman and Mayor for the last 19 years. I am actively engaged in the Elks Lodge, Valdez Fish Derbies, Alaska Gas Line Port Authority and Alaska Municipal League as well as numerous other organizations and activities in the community. I enjoy hunting, fishing, and watching my grandsons wrestle across the state.

The main challenges facing the City of Valdez in the next five years are:

1. Reducing the level of spending as our revenues begin to decline. We can’t continue to fund the level of spending that the City Council is doing and expect not to have to begin to use our savings.
2. Prioritization of our spending we move forward with declining revenues. While we may have significant revenues in savings accounts now, we must prioritize what we spend that money on. It will not last much into the future if we fund every program or project.
3. Strategic planning is a never-ending process that must evolve as things change around us. I believe the current level of planning is adequate at this time. We have failed to plan for over ten years and now we are playing catch-up. The strategic planning process must create a community plan not a City plan.