California state Sen. Dave Cox dies at 72 [BC-COX-OBIT:SA]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ State senator and former Assembly Republican leader Dave Cox died Tuesday, ending more than two decades of public service by a fiscal conservative and political tough guy who savored a good joke and loved to laugh _ even at himself. He was 72.

Cox's family said the senator died peacefully in his Fair Oaks home, surrounded by his wife, Maggie, family and friends, after a 13-year battle with prostate cancer.

"He could be as fierce a warrior as anyone I've ever met," said Jim Brulte, former state Senate Republican leader. "But he'd also go out of his way to make sure that everyone around him was treated with respect and dignity. I loved the man."

Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, described Cox as "a man of firm convictions, totally principled and one hell of a hard worker."

"When we said goodbye to each other (Monday), I just said, 'You can't have a better friend.' "

Cox stories abound in the state Capitol.

"When you go out to lunch today, drink whiskey," Cox once advised Democrats on the Assembly floor. "So constituents will think you're drunk and not just stupid."

Asked about an eye patch he was wearing this spring to correct a medical condition, Cox jokingly likened himself to Israel's tough defense minister during the 1967 Six-Day War.

"I'm imitating Moshe Dayan, it adds to my image," he said.

During California's 2001 energy crisis, Cox scoffed when Gov. Gray Davis claimed that he was close to stabilizing energy prices. "The governor has turned the corner so many times that he's back to where he started from," Cox quipped.

Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness remembers commiserating with Cox about the difficulty both had in falling asleep.

"He said the reason I was an insomniac was because I had a guilty conscience," McGinness said.

Cox served on the Sacramento Municipal Utility District board and as a six-year Sacramento County supervisor before joining the Assembly in 1998 and Senate in 2004.

As a county supervisor, Cox pushed for more "projects in the ground," or PIGs, prompting county officials to present him with a live pig when he left for the Capitol.

Cox's death will trigger a special election to complete the final two years of his term in the 1st Senate District, which stretches from Sacramento County suburbs to the Oregon border.

At the Capitol, Cox crafted a reputation as gruff, feisty, and combative – a curmudgeon with a warm heart, quick smile and ready quip.

"He was a partisan, he was a fighter, and he could be difficult," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. "But I'll tell you, when it came to the human element, he was gold."

Four years ago, Cox ruffled feathers by silently protesting a speech to the Legislature by then-Mexican President Vicente Fox. Cox and other Republicans wore buttons reading "No Mas" to express disgust at illegal immigration and to press Fox to help stop it.

"I consider myself warm and friendly, but I'm fairly direct," Cox once said. "If you ask my opinion and don't want my answer, you probably shouldn't have asked."

Cox, owner of a small insurance business, held a master of science degree from Golden Gate University and committed himself to learning Spanish in his 60s.

Cox became Assembly GOP leader in a March 2001 coup by conservatives pushing for a more confrontational approach to California's energy crisis. He held the post until January 2004.

Cox's legislative achievements included bills that banned youth from buying etching cream for use in graffiti, and he created a pilot program in Sacramento County that allowed vehicles of suspected repeat drunken drivers to be impounded for 30 days.

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(c) 2010, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.).

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