Dan Wolk, a former mayor of Davis, was appointed Tuesday to the Yolo Superior Court bench, one of 14 new California judges tapped by Gov. Gavin Newsom across the state.
Wolk, 42, has served as a deputy county counsel in the Solano County Counsel’s Office since 2009. Prior to that, he worked as an associate attorney at McDonough, Holland & Allen P.C. from 2005 to 2008 and was founder and director of the Legal Clinic of Yolo County from 2006 to 2008.
He also served on the Davis City Council from 2011 to 2016 — beating out nine other candidates to fill a vacated seat — and held the mayor’s post during the final two years of his term. Wolk is the son of former Lois Wolk, a former Davis mayor, Yolo County supervisor, California assemblywoman and state senator; and Bruce Wolk, former dean and professor emeritus at the UC Davis School of Law.
Wolk said Tuesday he was honored by Newsom’s appointment.
“My parents instilled in me a deep commitment to both the law and public service, and serving as a judge in the county in which I grew up and am raising a family is especially meaningful,” Wolk said. “I look forward to joining the exceptional jurists already on the Yolo County bench and to serving the people of Yolo County with fairness, thoughtfulness and humility.”
A Democrat, Wolk earned his law degree from the UC Berkeley School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by last year’s retirement of Judge Janet Gaard.
“On behalf of all the judges of Yolo Superior Court, we thank the governor for an excellent judicial appointment,” Presiding Judge Samuel McAdam said. “Dan has already proven himself to be a committed public servant and throughout his career has demonstrated the necessary temperament and smarts to be a great judge.”
McAdam noted that Wolk will be assigned to Department 9, one of the court’s two civil departments, “and with his background, we know he will hit the ground running.”
“He really knows the people of our community and how government works, and that will help him as he faces important decisions as a judge,” McAdam added. “We are all confident he will be a terrific judge.”
Judge David Rosenberg, himself a former Davis mayor and Yolo County supervisor prior to his appointment to the Yolo bench in 2003, said Wolk “has a unique combination of skills in government service and in elected office that will serve him well as a judge of the Superior Court. And of course, I’m partial to the savvy and temperament of former mayors.”
Wolk will earn an annual salary of $214,601. He lives in Davis with his wife, Jamima, and their daughters Avery and Layla.
In addition to Yolo County, Newsom made judicial appointments to the Superior Courts of Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene