David Wolk. Courtesy photo Long-time public official Dave Wolk stepped down from the role of Rutland County assistant judge on Monday, ahead of a bid for state senate.  After more than a three-decade hiatus from the legislature, Wolk plans to run as an independent for one of the three Rutlan d County state senate seats. “I’m not really in step with some of the very loud voices on the far right or even the far left,” Wolk said. “I make decisions on the issues.” Wolk served as Democrat in the state Senate representing Rutland County for four years between 1988 and 1992. He went on to win the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor in 1992, but lost in the general election against Barbara Snelling. “I really felt back then that I could make a difference,” Wolk said.  Wolk plans to start campaigning for the November election once the current legislative session concludes, and will not accept campaign donations from PACs or political parties, as he does not “want to be beholden to anybody, except for voters,” Wolk said. Joyce McKeeman, president of the Vermont Association of County Judges, said assistant judges are bound by the Vermont Code of Judicial Conduct, which requires judges to resign from their post if they intend to run for political office.  “Dave was really valuable in his three years as an assistant judge,” McKeeman said. “He couldn’t stay as an assistant judge, so he did exactly what he was supposed to do.” Assistant judges are elected county executives that serve as fact finders in civil and family court alongside a superior court judge and develop an annual county budget. As Wolk ran as an independent for the assistant judge role, Wolk said there is no party caucus to help find potential candidates to replace him. This situation is rare if not unprecedented, Wolk said. Gov. Phil Scott plans to seek “input from the community” instead of a party caucus before appointing a replacement since Wolk was elected as an independent, the Governor’s Office press secretary Amanda Wheeler wrote in an email. Before his three years as an assistant judge, much of Wolk’s career centered on education. Wolk served as Vermont’s Commissioner of Education, president of Castleton University, principal of Barstow Memorial School and Rutland High School and superintendent of Rutland City Public Schools among other roles. Last July, Wolk was tapped by Scott for a role on the school district redistricting task force, citing his more than half-century of public service experience.  Both his roles in education and in the judiciary give him a window into challenges that families face in Rutland County, Wolk said. “You learn a lot about the struggles — the real world struggles — that people are going through,” Wolk said. “Although I felt that I knew about that as an educator, I got a much better lesson by sitting in court.” Read the story on VTDigger here: Rutland County assistant judge resigns, plans to run as independent for Vermont Senate. ...read more read less