On Friday, Gov.Gavin Newsom appointed the second openly transgender person to serve as a California Judge.
The disability advocate, Andi Mudryk, 58, chief deputy director at the Department of Rehabilitation, will serve on the Sacramento County Superior Court. Mudryk, a Democrat, is among eight judicial appointments in California.
Newsom nominated Justice Maria E. Stratton as Presiding Justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Eight, and Martin N. Buchanan as Associate Justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One. The Governor announced his appointment of six Superior Court Judges, which include one in Contra Costa County; two in Riverside County; two in Sacramento County; and one in Siskiyou County.
Mudryk earned a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School and is a person with a disability, brittle bone disease.
She was Director of Litigation and Policy Advocacy at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County from 2017 to 2018 and Executive Director at Disability Rights Advocates in 2017. She served in several positions at Disability Rights California from 2006 to 2017, including Deputy Director, Director of Litigation, and Managing Attorney.
Mudryk was Director of Litigation and Advocacy at the Arizona Center for Disability Law from 2002 to 2006. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Benjamin G. Davidian, and follows in the path of Alameda Superior Court Judge Victoria Kolakowski, who became the first openly transgender judge after being elected in 2010.
She will receive $225,000 in annual compensation.
