Dr. Peter Dreier To Be Honored as “2015 Progressive of the Year” at Friday Event

Occidental College professor Peter Dreier will be honored as Pasadena’s “2015 Progressive of the Year” on Friday, March 4, 9 to 10 a.m. at a meeting at DuPars restaurant, 214 South Lake Avenue (near Cordova).

The Progressive Discussion Group, a network of local activists who meet twice monthly to discuss and mobilize around issues in Pasadena, will present the award. The award ceremony will be followed by a discussion of how Pasadenans for a Livable Wage recently mounted an effective campaign to get Pasadena to adopt a local minimum wage law and what needs to happen next to ensure that it is fully implemented.

Pasadenans for a Livable Wage came together as a coalition of political groups like ACT, civil rights organizations, churches and faith-based activists, and the ACLU along with labor unions, immigrant rights groups such as the Pasadena Community Jobs Center, and some businesses. A number of local progressives and liberals from these groups were engaged in the effort.

“Many stood out, but Peter Dreier stood out among the stand-outs,” said Dale Gronemeier, a local civil rights attorney and chair of ACT’s Coalition-Building and Outreach Committee. “Dreier’s intellectual leadership of Pasadenans for a Livable Wage — through the many articles he wrote, his tireless prodding and organizing, and his organizational and political skill — warrant the title of ‘2015 Progressive of the Year.’”

Dreier teaches Politics and chairs the Urban & Environmental Policy Department at Occidental College. He is the author of four books on public policy and cities as well as his most recent book, The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame. He serves on the boards of the Pasadena Educational Foundation and the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE). He lives in Pasadena with his wife, Terry Meng. They have twin 19-year old daughters, Amelia and Sarah.

Friday’s event is open to the public. Attendees will be able to buy breakfast or coffee at DuPars before or during the meeting.