

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Victoria Kolakowski is the first transgender person elected as a trial judge and one of the very few elected to any office. She will be sworn in Tuesday at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, and will then begin her assignment hearing criminal cases at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse.

Kolakowski hopes to bring diversity to the bench through her transgender experience and her background as an attorney focusing on civil matters through her job as an administrative law judge at the California Public Utilities Commission. Last November, Kolakowski won 50.98% of the vote against deputy district attorney John Creighton, who won 47.98% of the vote.