Steven Pestka (born October 5, 1951) is an American politician, attorney and businessman. Pestka served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, judge, and a Kent County commissioner. He was the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nominee for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

to represent

Michigan's 3rd congressional district Michigan's 3rd congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in West Michigan. From 2003 to 2013, it consisted of the counties of Barry and Ionia, as well as all except the northwestern portion of Kent, including the city of Grand Ra ...

, which he lost to

Justin Amash Justin Amash ( ; born April 18, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2021. Originally a Republican, Amash joined the Libertarian Party in April 2020, becoming the party's first (an ...

Early life and education

Pestka's father, Henry, survived the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Henry relocated to

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, where he started a

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

business. Pestka graduated from

East Grand Rapids High School East Grand Rapids High School is a public secondary school located in East Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It serves grades 9–12 for the East Grand Rapids Public Schools. Athletics The EGRHS Pioneers compete in the Ottawa-Kent Conferen ...

. He then attended

Grand Rapids Community College Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) is a public community college in Grand Rapids, Michigan. History Grand Rapids Junior College was established on September 21, 1914, after University of Michigan faculty passed a resolution encouraging the ...

and graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Pestka received his Juris Doctor degree from the

Michigan State University College of Law The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the ...

Career

After law school, Pestka became Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Kent County, Michigan. He became a member of the Kent County Board of Commissioners in 1992 and served three terms. In 1998, Pestka was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives, where he served two terms. In 2002, Pestka ran against

Bill Hardiman William Clyde Hardiman III is an American Republican politician from Michigan. He was the mayor of Kentwood, Michigan from 1992 to 2002. He then ran for Michigan state senate in 2002 in the 29th district, defeating Steve Pestka, and served fro ...

for election to the Michigan Senate rather than seek reelection to the Michigan House. Pestka lost the election 53.8–44.7%.

Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-American lawyer, educator, author, political commentator, and politician serving as the 16th United States secretary of energy since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she pre ...

, the Governor of Michigan, appointed Pestka to the Family Court in the Kent County Circuit Court in 2003. He was elected to a six-year term in 2004. However, he resigned as judge in 2009 to help run his father's real estate business. Pestka ran for the

nomination for the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

to represent

. He lost to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

(subsequently

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

and then Libertarian)

Personal

Pestka and his wife, Alicia, have one son. They reside in

Ada, Michigan Ada Township ( ) is a civil township of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 14,388 at the 2020 census. The majority of the township is included in the Forest Hills census-designated place, which is used only for stati ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pestka, Steve 1951 births County commissioners in Michigan Living people Politicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan Michigan state court judges Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives University of Michigan alumni Detroit College of Law alumni Businesspeople from Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids Community College alumni People from Ada, Michigan