California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Andi Mudryk to the Sacramento County Superior Court today, marking the first appointment of an openly transgender person to a judicial post in California history. If confirmed, Mudryk will become just the second openly transgender judge in California. Victoria Kolakowski is the first openly transgender judge in California, after she was first elected as a judge of the Alameda County Superior Court in November 2010.

Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, released the following statement from Executive Director Tony Hoang:

“We are thrilled to be celebrating another historic milestone today for California’s LGBTQ+ community in Governor Newsom’s historic appointment of Andi Mudryk to the Sacramento County Superior Court. A seasoned civil rights advocate, Mudryk brings almost twenty years of experience in disability rights and rehabilitation to the court. As governors and state legislatures across the country attack the trans community, we applaud Governor Newsom’s continued commitment to increasing trans representation across appointments and on the bench. California continues to remind the rest of the country that LGBTQ+ voices are essential to achieve full equality.”

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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org