New career takes flight for retiring Sonoma County Judge Gary Medvigy

He’s been an Army general, prosecutor and judge. Now, Gary Medvigy is embarking on a fourth career.

The Sonoma County Superior Court judge said Tuesday he’s leaving the bench after nearly 10 years to pursue his love of flying.

He and his wife, Christine Ping, are moving from their Sebastopol home to Vancouver, Washington, where Medvigy, a longtime private pilot, will take training to become a commercial flight instructor.

“All in all, it’s a good time to look for my next career which, hopefully, is as a pilot,” said Medvigy, who was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007.

The 60-year-old jurist said he considered remaining for another six-year term but has become increasingly frustrated by judicial budget cuts and legislation that he said promised money for public-safety programs but has not delivered.

Also, he said he wanted to spend more time with aging parents.

His last day on the job is Monday, ?he said.

“I definitely will miss it,” he said.

Gov. Jerry Brown will name a replacement to fill the $181,000 a year job in a process that could take months. In the meantime, local court officials are expected to hire a temporary judge.

“We will request an assigned judge to sit in while the governor appoints someone,” said Jose Guillen, the court’s executive officer.

Sonoma County Superior Court now has 20 judges and three commissioners. The most recent addition was Commissioner Becky Rasmason, who joined in April.

Judges up for re-election in June, including Medvigy, faced no opposition and will not appear on the ballot, said Bill Rousseau, the county registrar of voters.

Whoever is appointed to fill his spot must run in November 2018, Rousseau said.

Medvigy was a Sonoma County prosecutor for ?19 years before taking the bench. At the same time, he was an officer in the Army reserves, rising to the rank of major general before retiring in February. In his last post, he was deputy commander of the Eighth Army in South Korea. He also led units in Afghanistan and Iraq.

His daughter, Army Capt. Elyse Ping Medvigy, scaled Mount Everest earlier this year in a high-profile bid to raise awareness of combat veteran suicide.

Another daughter is graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point; his son is also in law enforcement, and a third daughter lives in Vermont.

“Our kids are doing great,” he said.

Medvigy said he would use the G.I. Bill to attend aviation courses in the Portland, Oregon, area. He’s been a pilot for about 15 years and was a member of the local civil air patrol.

As a judge, he presided over about 100 trials, including the high-profile case of Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo, who was acquitted in 2014 of attempting to peek into a female neighbor’s home. Most recently, he oversaw the case of a white Petaluma mother and daughter convicted of resisting arrest in a videotaped confrontation with a black sheriff’s deputy.

Medvigy last week said their actions were fueled by bigotry and entitlement and sentenced them to ?30 days in jail.

Medvigy said he was disheartened by Proposition 47, which cut sentencing for certain crimes and proposed funding for rehabilitative services. He said the county has yet to see any money. Medvigy also criticized budget cuts from the governor that have put on hold plans to build new courthouses in Sonoma County and 16 other counties.

“My main point is the budgeting process is dysfunctional,” Medvigy said.