About Senator Cogdill

Dave-Cogdill

Senator Dave Cogdill was the California State Senate Republican Leader. He was elected to represent the 14th District in 2006. Cogdill served as vice chair of the Public Safety, the Revenue and Taxation, and the Joint Legislative Audit Committees. He previously represented the 25th District for six years in the California State Assembly, where he was vice chair of the Committee on Rules and minority floor leader. As the former chair of the California State Legislature Rural Caucus, Cogdill collaborated with local leaders on many issues concerning rural residents, such as access to health care and quality education. He received numerous awards for his public service; in 2007 he was named Senate Small Business Legislator of the Year by the California Small Business Association. For his exemplary service to the community and state during the California budget crisis in 2009, Dave Cogdill was awarded the prestigious Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in 2010. Cogdill has built a real estate appraisal business in Modesto, where he once served two terms on the Modesto City Council.

Senator Dave Cogdill was Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Kenneth L. Maddy Institute from 2010-2012. In this position, Senator Cogdill helped develop the Maddy Institute by accomplishing such goals as:

  • Helped raise over $250,000 for student scholarships
  • Expanded the Maddy Intern Program to several new offices, including Cong. Kevin McCarthy (Majority Whip) from Bakersfield, State Sen. Sam Blakeslee from San Luis Obispo and numerous city and county offices throughout the San Joaquin Valley.
  • Expanded The Maddy Report to the Sacramento area on KVIE (PBS-Sacramento) and statewide on The California Channel
  • Increased The Maddy Daily to 10,000+ subscribers
  • Increased The Maddy Associate membership by 33% and hosted such guest speakers as Gov. Jerry Brown and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.

With his wife of 47 years, Stephanie, Cogdill had two children, David Jr. and Meghan. Cogdill died of pancreatic cancer on July 23, 2017