Bernie Sanders returns to California for an awards ceremony Saturday that will gather nearly 700 trial lawyers, labor union officials, activists and others from Sanders’ left wing of the Democratic Party.
Rage for Justice, the signature gala for the Santa Monica nonprofit Consumer Watchdog, honors “fellow travelers in the fight to hold corporations and politicians accountable for their abuses,” according to Jamie Court, the organization’s president.
In light of renewed efforts to repeal Obamacare in Washington, Court anticipates that the award recipients will have plenty to say about Donald Trump.
Bernie and Jane Sanders will receive Public Servants of the Year awards for a “lifetime of service and activism for peace, civil rights and social justice.” The Sanders-loving California Nurses Association is an event co-chair, which the gala website says requires a $100,000 donation. Rose Ann DeMoro was honored in 2006.
Musician Jackson Browne is slated to receive the Burton Public Service Award. Auto defects attorney Christine Spagnoli will receive the organization’s “Lifetime Legal Achievement Award.”
Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, actor Dennis Quaid, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, Antonio Villaraigosa and California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton have been honored by the organization in the past.
The gala begins at 7 p.m. at the The Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.