Distancing itself from two former slave-owning presidents — Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson — for whom the dinner was named, the Connecticut Democratic Party announced the new name of its annual fundraising dinner on Thursday.
The dinner, which in Connecticut had been the Jefferson Jackson Bailey dinner, will now be named the Connecticut Democratic Progress Dinner.
Many state Democratic parties dropped Jefferson Jackson as the name of their annual dinners this summer. In Connecticut, Bailey was added in honor of former state and national party chairman John Bailey. Instead of incorporating that into the new name, the party will instead give an award named after Bailey.
The Bailey award will now be one of two major awards Democrats give out at the dinner. The other is an award in memory in William T. O’Neill.
The decision to change the name of the dinner was made after soliciting input from Democratic leaders, elected officials, and party activists, Democratic Party Chairman Nick Balletto said in a press release.
“I believe the new name reflects how Democrats, in Connecticut and around the country, have long been the party pushing for progress on just about every issue, as Republicans try to take us backward,” Balletto said.
The annual Connecticut Republican Party dinner is called the Prescott Bush Dinner.
