Mayor Dianne Feinstein presented Cortese, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Local Government, with a Resolution of Commendation as 1983 Legislator of the Year for having authored major legislation involving local government. He received numerous awards and certificates of appreciation from local service clubs and community organizations. He participated as featured speaker at numerous statewide conferences including: The California Association of LAFCOS, California Supervisors Association, California Contract Cities Association, California State Chamber of Commerce, the Bay Area Council, California Special Districts Association, Association of California Water Agencies, California Realtors Association, Los Angeles County Employees Association and the League of California Cities.He and his wife Suzanne were members of a 1983 California Legislator's Mission to Israel. In 1984, he and Suzanne were delegates on the California Sister State Task Force that traveled to Taiwan and established the first Sister State relationship with the Republic of Taiwan pursuant to Senate Concurrnt Resolution No. 40. He has also been honored with the Ordine al Merito, Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy, the highest ranking honor and most senior order of the Republic, Cavaliere Ufficiale, Knight of the Republic. Speakership battle Cortese was one of the Democrats that Republicans hoped to win over when they were struggling to gain the speakership in 1995. Brown had Assemblyman Dick Mountjoy expelled, so the Republicans had only 40 votes when they needed 41. Without Paul Horcher and Cortese, the Democrats had only 39 votes and one vacancy. Horcher, scorned by the Republicans in his earlier election, became an Independent and voted for Brown on the first roll call. Cortese abstained, but cast the single deciding vote on the second roll call with his wife sitting next to him at his desk. Cortese met privately with Jim Brulte, Brown's Republican adversary, and later with Brown and Horcher upon entering the Assembly chambers earlier that day. Education Cortese received a Bachelor of Science degree from Santa Clara University. He graduated from Pala Middle School in San Jose and Bellarmine College Preparatory High School in 1950. He holds an Honorary Law Degree from Lincoln Law School. A college ROTC graduate, Cortese served for two years in the United States Army,(1954-1956), as a First Lieutenant. During his legislative career, he was given an Award of Recognition for Support of Vietnam Veterans of America at a California Statewide Convention held in San Jose. He is a Rotary Club Paul Harris