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 for election to the
Michigan Senate rather than seek reelection to the Michigan House. Pestka lost the election 53.8–44.7%.
Jennifer Granholm, 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
Democratic Party nomination for the
United States House of Representatives election to represent
Michigan's 3rd congressional district. He lost to
Republican (subsequently
Independent and then
Libertarian)
Justin Amash. ==Personal==