Robert Cox
for City Council
A campaign centered on thoughtful growth, strong neighborhoods, more parks and open space, a thriving downtown, and practical environmental leadership.
Mountain View has the mind of a high-tech center, but the heart of a small California town. Above all, Robert values the neighborhoods and the sense of community that makes the city endure.Campaign vision
16 years serving Mountain View
Robert Cox has worked across commissions, neighborhood organizations, environmental advocacy, historical preservation, and community service. He brings long experience, detailed knowledge of city planning, and a record of steady public involvement.
- City of Mountain View Environmental Planning Commissioner (2013-2020)
- City of Mountain View Rental Housing Committee Member (2023-present)
- Old Mountain View Neighborhood Association Board Member
- Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter Membership Committee Member (2026-present)
- Mountain View Historical Association Board Member (2021-present)
- Santa Clara County Airport Land Use Commissioner (2025-present)
- Kiwanis Mountain View Board Member (2025-present)
- Livable Mountain View Steering Committee Member (2017-present)
- Old Mountain View Neighborhood Association
- Environmental Planning Commission
- Precise Plans Recommended for Approval
- Rental Housing Committee Programs Approved
- Land Use and Policy Advocacy
Focused on the future of Mountain View
Robert's platform centers on protecting and shaping downtown, building housing with respect for neighborhoods and infrastructure, and planning growth in a way that keeps Mountain View livable for the next generation.
Our city’s Downtown Precise Plan accurately portrays our downtown “historic center and civic focus of the community, and the heartbeat of the city.” Our next council will make key updates to the plan, forging a vision for it for the next generation.
Last year, the California legislature passed SB79, which calls for areas within one-half mile of transit to be rezoned to permit 5-9 story buildings. SB79 will go into effect on July 1, 2026. Since our downtown historic commercial district lies within one-half mile of the downtown Caltrain station, it will be affected by SB79. Fortunately, our city council took action to work on an SB79 local alternative plan, which could retain our city’s ability to shape that district’s future.
However, the current council chose to defer action on that alternative plan until after the 2026 election. I support taking action on the alternative plan immediately when the new council term begins in 2027. Doing so will allow the council to preserve the key historic buildings in the 100 to 300 block of Castro Street and a few historic buildings near Castro Street. It will also allow the council to mandate that any new development in this area maintains the historic look and feel the area as a whole.
During COVID-19, many of our downtown businesses struggled to survive as their customers were sheltering in place. Today, our new pedestrian mall is a lively meeting place for Mountain View residents and visitors from other parts of the Bay Area. But, there are still some vacant store fronts along Castro Street. Our city needs to continue with efforts to make it easy for business owners to locate in those vacant spots. Our city needs to continue its dialogue with property owners and provide incentives that will encourage them to rent out their vacant spaces.
Mountain View emerged from the Great Recession of 2009 with unprecedented high-tech job growth, which continued until the advent of COVID-2019. Building new housing to accompany this growth was a key to our city’s success. During that time, I was actively involved in the housing approval process: first as Vice Chair of the Old Mountain View Neighborhood Association, where I hosted development review seminars for our residents, then on the city’s Environmental Planning Commission (EPC) from 2012-2020, where I was Chair and Vice Chair twice.
During that time, I voted to recommend to the City Council approval of 24 housing projects. This included 4228 new housing units (of which 643 were affordable.) These projects were of a variety of types: apartments, rowhomes, stacked-flat condos, and a few small lot single-family homes.
Some of the over 4200 apartments, rowhomes, stacked flats, and small-lot single-family homes I recommend to approve on while on the EPC.
Some affordable housing projects for which I recommend approval while on the EPC.
While on the EPC, I helped found Livable Mountain View to advocate for livability in our city. I continue to serve a leadership role in that organization.
Engineer, community advocate, full-time public servant
Robert Cox grew up in Elyria, Ohio, in a union family, earned degrees in computer engineering and systems engineering from Case Western Reserve University, and built a long career in technology before retiring in 2024 to devote himself full-time to community service.
He first came to California as a Hewlett-Packard intern, later returned to the Bay Area to work for Silicon Graphics in Mountain View, and then spent almost 25 years at Intel as a software project lead. That technical background is matched by years of practical work on planning, housing, parks, historical preservation, and neighborhood issues in Mountain View.
Robert and his wife Iva have experienced Mountain View from multiple housing perspectives: as renters, as townhome owners, and as owners of a small-lot single-family home.
To help Mountain View grow without losing what makes it Mountain View
Robert says he has earned a reputation as a pragmatic decision maker who fights for what matters, listens to different viewpoints, and votes for what is best for the community as a whole.
He fell in love with Mountain View in 1995 because it combined the strengths of a high-tech center with the spirit of a small California town. He values the city's neighborhoods most of all, not just for their buildings, but for the range of people who live in them and the sense of community they create.
Robert believes the next council will face big decisions about downtown, housing, parks and open space, neighborhood change, and environmental sustainability. He is running to bring experience, care, and long-term civic perspective to those decisions.
His campaign message is straightforward: Mountain View should welcome growth, but not at the expense of historic character, neighborhood livability, park access, or environmental responsibility.
He sees council service as a chance to work with the whole community, not only one faction, and to help guide Mountain View's next generation of planning decisions wisely.
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Request an endorsementJoin Robert Cox's campaign for Mountain View
Mountain View's future will be shaped by the choices the city makes on housing, downtown, parks, neighborhood planning, and the environment. This campaign is about bringing experience and practical judgment to that work.