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Dan Cogan announced that he will not be seeking reelection to the City of Ithaca Common Council in November. “At the end of this year I will have been on Council for ten years, and I am looking forward to a break. As much as I love the work, I have other things I’d like to do that I simply don’t have time for.” Cogan and his wife, Tammy, have a 7-year old daughter, and he said his work as an engineer is taking up an increasing amount of time and attention. Cogan is planning to focus on family and his engineering work, but said he will probably get back into politics at some point. “I’m sure I will miss it.”

Cogan was first elected to a two-year term in 2001 in a hard fought race for the seat vacated by Jana Taylor. “I spent $3,000 in that election, which was an unheard of sum for a Common Council seat.” He was subsequently elected to two additional four-year terms in uncontested races in 2003 and 2007.

In his first term, Cogan played a key role in bringing the Cayuga Green development to the parcel surrounding the Tompkins County public library, when Mayor Cohen appointed him to chair the Cayuga Green Client Committee. “In 2002, there was just a surface parking lot surrounding the library,” Cogan said. “Now there is a multiuse development with a creekwalk, a café, a pharmacy, a clothing store, a wine center, offices and apartments, and a ground floor movie theater across the street.” The final element of the development will be a 30-40 unit apartment building adjacent to the Cayuga Garage, which is slated to break ground this year.

Cogan served as Acting Mayor for five years, from 2006 – 2010. He is currently chairing two working groups in city hall, one looking at charter and code issues, and the other focusing on public works management and governance issues. Cogan serves on the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (IDA), where he is vice-chair, and the Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) board of directors, which he has chaired twice and currently serves as vice-chair. He also chaired the Special Joint Committee that governs the Ithaca Area Waste Water Treatment Plant.

In his time on Common Council, Cogan said, he has served with 27 different Council colleagues and two mayors. “I’ve had the privilege of working with many wonderful colleagues and staff in my ten years in City Hall. Everyone is dedicated to providing the best public service possible given the constraints. I want to thank my current and past colleagues and city staff for all the work we did together these past ten years.”

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