Transgender candidate wins East Bay judge race

[alp227]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

(11-15) 17:35 PST OAKLAND -- Victoria Kolakowski declared victory Monday in a tightly contested race for Alameda County Superior Court, making her what is believed to be the nation's first transgender judge.

In the final, uncertified tally, Kolakowski defeated John Creighton by 51 to 48 percent, the Alameda County registrar of voters said. She received 162,082 votes to 152,546 for Creighton.

Kolakowski, 49, has 21 years of legal experience, including stints as a private attorney, corporate attorney and, currently, an administrative law judge. She argued during the campaign that she would bring professional diversity to the bench, where many judges are former prosecutors.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/15/BATI1GCFBF.DTL

[tonekat]

1. This is A Good Thing! N/T