New councilor is learning the ropes

Susan Cobb became a city councilor this year for the first time, continuing her passion for helping her community.

Cobb has lived in Sisters Country since 2006, after purchasing land in 2002, wanting to be close to family.

"I love Sisters because it's a small town, and you get to know a lot of people, and you feel welcomed, and it satisfies my cultural and social needs," said Cobb.

She moved into Sisters City limits in 2008. Cobb became a quilter when she moved to Sisters.

Her primary career had been working for Pacific Bell in San Francisco as a software project manager in carrier access billing systems. In the early 2000s, she was President of Cobonics, Inc., contracting in Europe for under five years, project managing billing systems and later online stock trading software development projects.

She started with the Bell system while living in Nevada as a cord board operator for long-distance connections. She was then a graphic artist with Pacific Bell when she moved to the Bay Area.

Cobb has retired thrice, first retiring from the Bell system in 1998, and then retiring from her time as a contractor with her company, Cobonics. She then became a masseuse, retired from that, and worked briefly in retail at the Stitchin' Post.

Cobb was born in Florida and moved around with her family. With her dad in the Air Force, they lived all over the place.

"I liked it; I loved meeting new people and finding new places," said Cobb.

Cobb is an active member of Indivisible Sisters. They advocate for political education and involvement. Four years ago, no one was running from their group, and they encouraged Cobb to run. By the time the election came around, four candidates were in the running. Cobb didn't make the first round of council selections, but advocated for the other members. When the election came up again two years later, Cobb decided to run again, winning and securing a spot on the City Council for the first time.

She has always been interested in studying climate change and wanted to advocate for looking at the impacts of climate change on Sisters by serving on the Council.

"I am very concerned with how we move forward in the next 10-15 years, and Sisters is going to be impacted, and our town needs to be open-minded in how we handle human migration and impacts from climate change," she said.

Cobb is striving to be part of solutions for the community, advocating for houseless policies and fire mitigation efforts.

Once she won the election and was sworn in in January, she read the documents, reviewed past Council meetings, and began training on how the Council worked.

"Once I got on council, I took the training from the League of Oregon Cities, a one-day crash course for councilors. From there, I made sure to be prepared, and I fully intend to continue that and to step up to my duties," she said.

"I have learned so much about the legality of being a Council member, and how you are interfacing with the public and the roles of the mayor as opposed to the other members; it's fascinating," said Cobb. Cobb is serving a two-year term, ending in December 2024.