[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 156 (Monday, November 8, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2298]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   A TRIBUTE TO JIM COX FOR 30 YEARS AS CITY MANAGER OF VICTORVILLE, 
                               CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JERRY LEWIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, November 8, 1999

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like today to recognize 
the remarkable career of Jim Cox, who came to Victorville, California 
in 1967 as an administrative assistant, became city manager in 1969 and 
guided the city in that position for 30 years until his recent 
retirement.
  Jim Cox began his public service--and his time in California--when he 
joined the Navy at 17 and moved to San Diego to be a medic. He first 
joined city government as an intern in La Mesa, California, while 
attending San Diego State College. After serving as assistant city 
manager of Indio for two years, he went to work in the Mojave Desert 
hub of Victorville--population 11,290.
  He quickly took on increasing responsibility, going from 
administrative assistant in charge of finance and personnel, to 
Director of Planning, Assistant City Manager, and finally City Manager 
in December 1969.
  The city budget that year was $750,000. His final budget, submitted 
this year, was for $72 million, for a city with a population of 63,478.
  As one of the longest-serving managers in California, Jim Cox 
provided a stabilizing influence not only for his rapidly growing city, 
but also for the entire Victor Valley, whose population has grown ten-
fold in the past 30 years. He was instrumental in helping the region 
weather the closure of George Air Force Base in 1988, and its economic 
revival over the past 10 years.
  Adding to his extensive public service credentials, Cox is a 
California Redevelopment Association director and on the Revenue and 
Taxation Committee for the League of California Cities. He is chairman 
for the Victor Valley Transit Board of Directors and served on the 
County Formation Review Committee.
  He is an instructor with a lifetime teaching credential at California 
State University, San Bernardino and at Victor Valley Community 
College. His community activities include the Victorville Chamber of 
Commerce Board of Directors and Rotary International.
  Mr. Speaker, Jim Cox has been justifiably credited with helping 
Victorville and the Victor Valley grow from a desert hamlet to a vital, 
successful city in one of the fastest-growing areas of California. 
Please join me in congratulating him on his years of public service, 
and wishing him well in his future endeavors.

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