The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Susan Cobb decided to run for Sisters City Council when she realized that, instead of encouraging others to run, she would walk her talk. She indicated that even if she doesn’t garner a Council seat, she will find other ways to be involved.

If she is elected, Cobb has identified a number of issues she would like to address including working with the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce to amplify the businesses already in Sisters and what new ones could be brought in to sustain and grow the business community.

With Zoom meetings the norm for now, Cobb would like to see a brief pre-meeting overview of topics to be discussed to help those phoning in to understand the proceedings. She believes ongoing open communication from City Hall is important.

Cobb thinks creation of additional safe bike and pedestrian lanes out to Adams and Hood avenues, while maintaining a lush, treed environment, would benefit residents and visitors.

Fire mitigation and education for all citizens is high on her list of priorities. While she served for three years as the president of the Timber Creek Homeowners Association, Cobb actively supported fire preparedness education with mailers to homeowners. She would like to see public fire mitigation meetings at Sisters Fire Hall to explain topics such as fire preparedness, emergency evacuation routes, and the use of fire-wise building materials to raise everyone’s awareness.

To assure all residents have the opportunity to thrive, she sees a need for more local low-income housing that is built with as much care as market-rate housing. To help those in the community who are unhoused, she pointed to programs in other cities where they are provided with tiny homes, so they have a roof over their heads. Cobb thinks it is incumbent on society to care for the people who have the least.

She summed up her philosophy this way: “I am just an individual who cares about the people. I will put my whole heart and soul into making things better for the greater good. . . I will do my best for the vast majority.”

Most of her working career was as a project manager for Pacific Bell, during which time she received a supervisory certificate in management from Golden Gate University. Her job evolved into working with software developers to create software for billing. She was one of only a handful of women working in that field in the earlier days of computers. She took all of that experience and formed her own consulting business, spending five years in Europe fulfilling one contract after another in Munich, Amsterdam, London, and Prague.

Having received her bachelor’s degree in fine arts from University of Nevada Reno, Cobb is an artist at heart, drawing and painting most of her life. In Central Oregon, she is recognized as an accomplished quilter, who donates her quilts to a number of organizations and fundraisers. She used both her artistic skills and management background while working at Stitchin’ Post for four years.

Cobb chose to move to Sisters in 2006 because her sister and brother-in-law live here.

“As this is my first attempt to be a civil servant, there is much to learn,” Cobb’s Voter Pamphlet entry says. “I will study the applicable laws, learn the ropes at City Hall, and be an advocate for the people of Sisters.”

Cobb didn’t offer an opinion on any decisions made by the current Council.

“I can’t say from the sidelines, without the material the City Council had before them,” she said.