Meet the Candidate: Joe Cobb

ROANOKE, VA – The election is just days away – and while all eyes are on the presidential race, here at home, we have several key local elections.

One of those is the Roanoke City mayoral race.

Leading up to the election, each of the three candidates have joined us for a digital exclusive interview to discuss their experience, goals, and key issues voters are concerned about.

Saturday, Vice-Mayor Joe Cobb sat down with 10 News Anchor Abbie Coleman.

You can watch the full interview, or read a full transcription of the conversation below.

Coleman: “Joe, thank you so much for joining us today.”

Cobb: “It’s good to be here.”

Coleman: “All right. Well, let’s go ahead and get started. The election is just a couple days away, and earlier this week, a Roanoke College poll came out, and it had you significantly ahead of your opponents, with 50% support. How did you feel when you first heard those numbers?”

Cobb: “I was happily surprised. We haven’t typically had local polling, so to see one this year was important and significant. I think it reflects a lot of good momentum in this election season. People are already turning out to vote, and I think it’s a reflection of the dedicated work that I’ve done over these last six and a half years for the city.”

Coleman: “And so how does that poll affect your confidence going into Tuesday?”

Cobb: “Well, a poll has to turn into actual votes. And so, you know, my hope is that it’s providing some additional momentum for people to get out and vote. It’s a significant election. It’s the first time in a number of years that we’ve not had an incumbent mayor running, and we have three good candidates. So turnout is important. And you know, we’ve had a lot of good focus on the local election this year, especially with three new city council members coming on. So a lot of good things happening. And I’m I’m encouraged by the early voting turnout and the enthusiasm that people have about this election.”

Coleman: “You’ve been on council since 2018 and you’ve been vice-mayor for the majority, if at all of that time, in that time, what have been your biggest takeaways.”

Cobb: “Biggest takeaways have been the collaborative and cooperative spirit of the city council. We’ve had some changes due to election and appointing some vacancies, but, but everyone that served on council has really had the heart of the city in mind, and we’ve worked hard to, you know, grow our economic development, to lower gun violence, to expand public transit, to continue our support for Roanoke City Public Schools. So a lot of significant things have happened in the last six and a half years, and I’ve been honored to be a part of that.”

Coleman: “If you were elected, it would be pretty historic. You would be the first openly gay mayor of Roanoke. What does that mean, not only for you, but for the city?”

Cobb: “Well, I think it reflects the significant growth of our city in terms of thinking of ourselves as a welcoming community, as an inclusive city. When I moved to Roanoke in 2001 it was close to the one-year anniversary of the Back Street Cafe shooting and so as a relatively new, out gay man, I wasn’t sure how Roanoke would feel. Is this place where I can live an authentic and meaningful life? And what I’ve seen every day, over and over again, is yes, Roanoke is the place for that to happen. And I didn’t think at the time that I would be a public servant here or let alone vice-mayor of the city. So being a part of that history, being a part of a city that embraces inclusion, that embraces people from all parts of the world that want to call this place home, is really cool.”

Coleman: “Let’s jump into some of the issues. There are a lot of issues that are top of mind for voters this year. What is the most important issue in your mind?”

Cobb: “Well, there are several, but I think one of the most important is just the continued focus on community safety. We’ve seen a 67% reduction in homicides related to gun violence this year, about a 55% reduction in injuries that’s due in part to the work we’ve done over the last five years to collaboratively reduce gun violence. It’s a combination of prevention, intervention, response strategies, justice and having Chief Booth here is a great addition to that effort. Most recently, we received a $2.9 million grant through the state as a Safer Cities Community, which will allow us to expand all of that prevention and intervention work that’s making a big difference.”

Coleman: “And I was just about to ask you about Chief Booth, because it’s been just about a year.”

Cobb: “Yes, one-year anniversary.”

Coleman: “It’s been just about a year since he got here. And obviously, we are seeing these numbers. We’re seeing results. Do you think we’re moving in the right direction, and what do you think needs to continue to happen?”

Cobb: “We are moving in the right direction, and I’ve always been concerned that we be able to sustain this reduction. I know when Chief Booth came, he said he wanted to see a 10% year-over-year reduction. We’ve broken that record this year, but we’ve got to be able to sustain it. So funding is always a big thing. Having community partners who are on board. We’ve spent the last five years building those relationships, and that’s making a huge difference, because we have that infrastructure in place. I think, continuing to focus on reducing interpersonal violence, inspiring people to not cause harm to themselves or to anyone else, and also remembering the work that we’re doing with youth, starting with prevention earlier and how we resolve conflict in healthy ways, increasing support for mentoring, for after school programs, all of those things play a significant role.”

Coleman: “Now you bring up a very interesting point about youth that was actually what I was about to ask you next. We’ve had a lot of different initiatives over the past few years to try and reduce youth violence, whether that’s gun violence or other kinds of violence. We’ve had curfews. We’ve had, you know, different community events like you talked about. We’ve talked a little bit about next steps, but elaborating a little bit more, what specifically, what steps do you think specifically need to be taken for young people?”

Cobb: “I think one of the biggest components of reducing violence in any form, particularly with youth, is building relationships. Whether it’s strengthening family stability, whether it is partnering mentors with youth, whether it’s creating programs through our libraries, through our after-school programs, to Roanoke City Public Schools – their community builders program. The more support that kids have to fully develop, socially and emotionally, but also in how they interact with each other, how they treat each other, and having those intergenerational influences and support.”

Coleman: “While we’re on the topic of young people, kids, teenagers. I want to talk a little bit about schools, and specifically school funding. Over the past few years, the standard was that the schools automatically got 40% of the budget surplus, whatever that surplus may be. Now I know that has changed, where the schools can apply for up to 40%. I know that decision caused a bit of backlash, both from the schools and the community, and I know that this is not the end of the discussion by any means. What are your thoughts on that budget surplus? Do you think that the 40% should automatically go to the schools? Do you think they need to apply? Where’s that middle ground?”

Cobb: “So I think the middle ground is really what we’ve tried to put in that process, which is a conversation. Share with us what your priorities are as Roanoke City Public Schools for that surplus amount. And we want to look at that alongside the growing number of priorities within the city and let’s find the best balance. I certainly fully support our Roanoke City Public Schools. I have two kids in high school and one in Governor’s School, and I’m one of the greatest advocates for our public schools. We simply wanted to be able to have a deeper conversation about what those priorities look like, not only so that we can fully support them, but so that we know what the priorities are for our schools.”

Coleman: “Now switching gears a little bit. A big issue that the community has voiced that they want addressed is the issue of homelessness. What steps do you think need to be taken specifically to address the homelessness crisis?”

Cobb: “So we have a really great, comprehensive effort right now that’s allowed us to house over 250 people this year. We’re continuing to see struggles with encampments, and that’s a reflection of the growing number of people who identify as unsheltered. So one of the things that I think we need to focus on a little more directly are what I like to call rapid housing units. Whether those are small villages, you know, we’ve seen different models throughout the country, from tiny homes to pods, but essentially providing some space for some of our local organizations to identify housing models and to get people housed. One of the things I’m really excited about is our new Home Safe Initiative, which is starting at the Belmont Lofts in Southeast. So, 34 units are being developed in the former Belmont Baptist Church, and 14 of those units are what we call ‘home-safe’ units. So persons who are moving from homelessness into housing will receive support from Blue Ridge Behavioral Health and Commonwealth Catholic Charities. Sometimes we call that permanent supportive housing, which is also work the restoration housing does. So it’s a combination of creating more housing opportunities with a range of affordability. It’s making sure that we have those supportive services in place who maybe have not had, for people who’ve not had stabilized housing in some time, and making sure that we’re growing our support for our local agencies who have direct contact with people experiencing homelessness and moving them to permanent housing.”

Coleman: “And now we’re in a big time of transition as a city, not just with city council. I know we’ve got a lot of new members coming in, you know, as of next week but another big transition is with city manager. Bob Cowell is no longer with the city. We have an interim city manager as we move forward in that process of finding a new city manager who’s really invested in the City of Roanoke. How crucial is it for the manager and city council to work hand in hand?”

Cobb: “It’s absolutely critical. You know, Roanoke, the city council’s role is to set a vision for the city, and the City Manager works with us to build that vision into a strategic plan, and then works with city administration and our employees to implement that plan. We’re also focused on crafting a budget every year, and the city manager plays a key role in that, so that that working relationship, that collegial relationship, is absolutely critical. And certainly one of my priorities as the next mayor or as a continuing member of city council will be to make sure that we keep that focus and build that relationship”

Coleman: “Now, Joe, I want to thank you for joining us. Is there anything else that we haven’t discussed that you want to add?”

Cobb: “Well, I do want to celebrate the significant work we’re doing in terms of economic growth in our community. One of the things that’s so special about Roanoke is what we create together, from the new Market on Melrose that’s going to open on November 13, to the extraordinary work that’s happening in Riverdale, to the expansion of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, the new cancer center that we just broke ground on, the new Cardiac Care Center, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, the new wet lab. There are so many exciting things happening in our city, and we just need to continue to celebrate that momentum and that growth and champion it. And we’ve got a bright future ahead of us.”

You can find our other full-length, digital exclusive interviews for David Bowers here and Stephanie Moon-Reynolds here.

You can also see Moon-Reynolds’ live interview, Bowers’ live interview and Cobb’s live interview.