Cox was first elected to the council in 2008, where he served in the Eaglehawk Ward, achieving 32.73% of the primary vote and 58.45% of the two candidate preferred vote, defeating incumbent councillor Elaine Harrington.[2] In the 2012 election, Cox contested the Whipstick Ward after a new three-ward structure was introduced. He was elected with 33.71% of the vote.[3]
Cox was elected as mayor by the council in 2014, succeeding Barry Lyons.[1] He was officially installed as mayor on the night of 11 November, where he chaired a meeting to make a bid for upgrades to Bendigo Airport.[4] Like Lyons, Cox's career as mayor of Bendigo was significantly impacted by the controversy surrounding the approval of the city's first mosque.[5][6] The proposal, which he supported, faced strong opposition from some community members, leading to protests and public debate.[7] This issue became a focal point of his mayoralty, and the backlash somewhat overshadowed his broader work in local government.[citation needed]
In March 2016, Cox was ordered to apologise to two former councillors, after a misconduct finding was made against him. The councillors, Elise Chapman and Helen Leach, claimed that Cox breached conduct guidelines several times in September 2015, during Cox's tenure as mayor.[8][9] In April, Cox decided against challenging the misconduct finding, instead writing apologies to his two former colleagues.[9]
