SACRAMENTO - Amid a backdrop of huge budget deficits, talk about the car tax, and voter perception of dysfunctional state government, former Gov. Gray Davis was able to celebrate Monday night.

Though current statehouse conditions eerily mirror those that got Davis recalled in 2003 - and replaced with current Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger - the former Democratic state assemblyman, controller, lieutenant governor and governor bypassed an opportunity to criticize current officeholders.

"Remember, we came here to make a difference, and we made a difference," said Davis, speaking at an event that marked the 10th anniversary of his election to the state's top job, in 1998.

In his next sentence, Davis reminded about 100 attendees that while his administration made progress, there's still a lot of work to be done in California, and encouraged them to keep after it, whether on the national, state or local level.

Mostly, though, the event had the feel of a high school reunion - and a bit of a networking mixer - as veterans of Davis' administrations and campaigns hugged, posed for pictures and snacked on shrimp cocktail and sipped wine.

Among the attendees were state Controller John Chiang, Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani (D-Livingston, former Assemblymen Dario Frommer (D-Glendale) and Rusty Areias (D-Los Banos), longtime political operative Garry South and Davis and his wife, Sharon.

Both Davis and South, who served as Davis' campaign manager in several races, recalled the 1998 race as an uphill struggle.

In the primary, then-Lt. Gov. Davis ran against fellow Democrats Al Cecchi and U.S. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), both of whom were wealthy enough to blanket the airwaves with ads.

Davis' campaign, far less profligate, couldn't afford much advertising and polled at only 11 percent of the vote in March 1998, Davis said.

But when Cecchi's campaign decided to become more aggressive with his primary opponents, his ads featured both Davis and Harman, Davis said, because he didn't want to be seen as attacking a woman.

The exposure boosted Davis' profile enough to give him the primary win, and he then won an easy victory over Republican Attorney General Dan Lungren in November.