Ronald E. Albers is believed to be the first openly gay judge appointed by a Republican governor in California, according to the Bay Area Reporter.  He was sworn in as a judge on the San Francisco County Superior Court on June 15th.

From the Bay Area Reporter:

The governor’s office does not track the sexual orientation of its judicial appointments, despite requests from LGBT legal advocates that it do so. Several gay and lesbian lawyers contacted by the Bay Area Reporter said they could not recall another out person being named a judge by Schwarzenegger.

“I think it is wonderful,” said Russ Roeca, a founding partner of the law firm Roeca Haas Hager and the openly gay president of the Bar Association in San Francisco. “We have asked the governor to open the application process to allow candidates to check off a box to identify as LGBT. They consider it to be a matter of privacy, but I think it is a matter of respect.”