More than 500 people gathered last night at the Irvine Hilton for the 17th Annual Truman Award Dinner to benefit the Democratic Party of Orange County. In his keynote address Governor Jerry Brown focused on the importance of education for California’s future. Brown criticized the focus on standardized tests to measure student achievement. “When I went to Berkeley, they didn’t require SAT scores”, said Brown. “that’s how I got in”.
Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang was the recipient of this years, Harry S Truman Award. Labor leader Glen Nolte was honored with the Samuel Gompers Award, and Paul Goldenberg received the Richard J. O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award. Dozens of local elected officials and Democratic Party activists were on hand to support the party at its annual fundraising event. In addition to Democrats, there were more than a few Republicans on hand to welcome Governor Brown as well. They included Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, GOP pollster Adam Probolsky, and political pundit Rick Reiff to name a few.
Martin Wisckol of the Orange County Register has a recap of the evening here.