Gay Man Takes Second in SF Judge Race

A gay mayoral aide and former prosecutor is headed to a November runoff in his bid for a judicial seat after landing in second place in Tuesday's primary.

Paul Henderson, who is Mayor Ed Lee's deputy chief of staff and director of public safety, was at 34.6 percent, or 50,381 votes, Wednesday morning, according to the unofficial returns posted by the election's department.
Victor Hwang

In first place was San Francisco Police Commissioner Victor Hwang, 48, also a former prosecutor, with 47.55 percent, or 69,237 votes with all precincts reporting. Because he fell short of the 50 percent plus one threshold to win the seat outright, Hwang will now face off against Henderson for Seat 7 on the San Francisco Superior Court.

The vacancy is due to the retirement of former Judge Ernest H. Goldsmith in April. The race for his seat had also attracted trial attorney Sigrid Irias, 54, who had secured the endorsement of the city's more progressive Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club. She ended up in third place with 17.18 percent, or 25,016 votes, Tuesday night.

Henderson, 48, had the support of the city's Democratic Party, the more moderate Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, and Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, the LGBT legal group. A San Francisco native and Tulane Law School graduate, Henderson went to work at the district attorney's office in 1995.

He worked his way up to become the highest-ranking LGBT person and African-American male in the DA's office, serving as chief of administration under former DA Kamala Harris. When she was elected in 2010 as the state's attorney general, he openly campaigned to be named her replacement.

Former Mayor Gavin Newsom instead chose the city's then-police chief, George Gascon, and Henderson went to work for Lee, who had been named by the Board of Supervisors to replace Newsom after he became the state's lieutenant governor. Henderson also announced he would not run against Gascon that fall to be DA.

If elected, he would be the first LGBT African-American to serve on the local court.

Lee dual endorsed both Hwang, who helped elect him mayor, and Henderson in the primary race.

Hwang is also a former San Francisco assistant district attorney who prosecuted hate crimes. The University of Southern California School of Law graduate began his career as a deputy public defender in East Los Angeles and then worked for a number of Asian legal nonprofits before joining the DA's office.

He now has his own private practice, and during the judicial campaign, has touted his courtroom experience as being more substantial than that of his opponents. The Judiciary Committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco gave Hwang its highest rating of "exceptionally well-qualified," whereas Henderson earned a "well-qualified" rating.

Trans Judge Wins Re-election

As expected Judge Victoria Kolakowski was re-elected Tuesday in an uncontested election for a seat on the Alameda County Superior Court. She was the first openly transgender trial court judge and is the only openly transgender person to have ever held elected governmental office in California.

The wife of Bay Area Reporter news editor Cynthia Laird, Kolakowski currently presides over a civil trial department. She was first elected six years ago in a November runoff election.

"I am deeply honored to be re-elected unopposed to serve the people of Alameda County for another six years," stated Kolakowski in a release issued shortly after the polls closed Tuesday night. "I pledge to continue to honor my commitment to judge fairly, treat all people who appear in front of me with dignity and respect, and to promote access to justice for all people."