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Victoria Kolakowski
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2011 - Present
2029
14
Victoria Kolakowski is a judge of the Superior Court of Alameda County in California. She assumed office on January 4, 2011. Her current term ends on January 8, 2029.
Kolakowski won re-election for judge of the Superior Court of Alameda County in California outright in the primary on June 7, 2022, after the primary and general election were canceled.
Kolakowski was elected to the court in 2010 and sworn in on January 4, 2011.[1] She is the first openly transgender trial judge in the country.[2]
Education
Kolakowski received a J.D. from Louisiana State University.[3]
Career
Kolakowski served as an attorney for 21 years after passing the bar in Louisiana. The Louisiana State Bar Association initially refused Kolakowski the opportunity to take the bar exam, saying that she was not of sound mind, due to her self-identification as transgender. She had to appeal the decision to the Louisiana Supreme Court before she was permitted to take the exam.[4] Kolakowski spent the four years prior to her judicial election as an administrative law judge with the California Public Utilities Commission.[3]
Awards and associations
- 2011: Equality and Justice Award, Equality California[5]
- 1995: Outstanding Woman of Berkeley, Berkeley Commission on the Status of Women
- 1994: Woman of the Year, East Bay Lesbian/Gay Democratic Club[6]
Elections
2022
See also: Municipal elections in Alameda County, California (2022)
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Victoria Kolakowski (Nonpartisan) won the election without appearing on the ballot.
2016
California held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. There was a primary on June 7, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 31, 2016. A total of 351 seats were up for election. Incumbent Victoria Kolakowski ran unopposed in the election for Office 15 of the Alameda County Superior Court.
| Alameda County Superior Court Judge, Office #15, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
 Victoria Kolakowski Incumbent | ||
2010
Kolakowski won 45.12 percent of the vote in the primary.[7] In the general election she faced John Creighton and won with 50.2 percent of the vote. Kolakowski ran on a campaign of bringing greater diversity to the courts.[2]
Selection method
- See also: Nonpartisan election
The 1,535 judges of the California Superior Courts compete in nonpartisan races in even-numbered years. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the June primary election, he or she is declared the winner; if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates is held during the November general election.[8][9][10][11]
If an incumbent judge is running unopposed in an election, his or her name does not appear on the ballot. The judge is automatically re-elected following the general election.[8]
The chief judge of any given superior court is selected by peer vote of the court's members. He or she serves in that capacity for one or two years, depending on the county.[8]
Qualifications
Candidates are required to have 10 years of experience as a law practitioner or as a judge of a court of record.[8]
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Victoria Kolakowski did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Judge Kolakowski is married to Cynthia Laird, a news editor at the Bay Area Reporter.[3] She underwent gender reassignment surgery in 1991.[4]
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Bay Citizen, "Nation's First Openly Transgender Trial Judge Sworn In," January 5, 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Oakland Tribune "Kolakowski wins race for Alameda County Superior Court judge," November 3, 2010
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Oakland North "Victoria Kolakowski sworn in as first openly transgender US trial judge," January 5, 2011
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 NY Daily News "California elects nation's first openly transgender judge, Victoria Kolakowski," November 17, 2010
- ↑ Equality California, "EQCA San Francisco Awards a Huge Success," February 14, 2011
- ↑ AOL News:Surge Desk "Victoria Kolakowski: 5 Facts About America's First Transgender Superior Court Judge," January 5, 2011
- ↑ Alameda County Election Results, "Superior Court Judge, Office 9"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: California," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Safeguarding California's judicial election process," August 21, 2011
- ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8203," accessed May 21, 2014
- ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8140-8150," accessed May 21, 2014
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