Note: I am the Public Policy Director for the Courage Campaign

Last fall the Courage Campaign began picking up where our friends at SpeakOut California left off, producing a new version of the progressive voter guide that SpeakOut pioneered. The guide was a big hit last fall, getting downloaded thousands of times and passed around by California progressives as a handy method to help navigate the 12 propositions on the ballot.

Now the Courage Campaign Issues Committee has produced its May 2009 Progressive Voter Guide. One one side it includes a handy chart of how the Courage Campaign and eight other progressive organizations have endorsed on the six ballot propositions – including, of course, the Calitics endorsements. On the other side it includes a description of the initiatives and a list of who supports which position.

This guide is especially valuable, I think, given that California Democratic and progressive voters and organizations are not unified on their approach to this election. Our guide includes the recommendations of the California Democratic Party, Calitics, the California Nurses Association, SEIU California State Council, the League of Women Voters, the California Federation of Teachers, California League of Conservation Voters, and the California Teachers Association.

It includes the endorsements of the Courage Campaign, as decided by our members in an online vote that was begun on Thursday. Our staff recommendation was No on 1A, 1C, 1D, 1E and 1F – we made no recommendation at all on Prop 1B. Our members, however, decided to endorse a No vote on all six initiatives, and as a result that is now the Courage Campaign’s official position on the May 19 initiatives.

The guide can be downloaded directly as a PDF – be sure to pass it around to your friends and family. I already have my ballot sitting somewhere in the pile of mail on my kitchen table, so this is particularly well timed for those of us who already have our ballots, and valuable to anyone interested in casting a vote on these important measures.

Below is the email we sent to our members today.

Dear Robert,

The statewide special election is less than a month away — on Tuesday, May 19. Are you ready to vote?

You may have already received a vote-by-mail ballot for the May 19 election, but perhaps you haven’t made your choices yet. The six initiatives on the ballot are complicated. Progressives are divided on the issues. Therefore, we are giving you as much information as possible so that you can make an informed choice.

That’s why the Courage Campaign is providing our May 19 Progressive Voter Guide for the special election ballot. You’ll see not only the Courage Campaign’s recommendations, but also those of other leading progressive organizations like the California Democratic Party, the California Nurses Association, the California Teachers Association and the League of Women Voters.

Click here to download and print the Courage Campaign’s two-page May 2009 Progressive Voter Guide from our web site (or click the image below to download a printable PDF document directly to your computer):

On Thursday, the Courage Campaign asked our members to vote on the following propositions and decide our final recommendations.

The final Courage Campaign endorsements on the ballot measures, as voted on by our members, are:

• Proposition 1A — Spending cap: NO

• Proposition 1B — School funding: NO

• Proposition 1C — Lottery borrowing: NO

• Proposition 1D — Divert First Five funds: NO

• Proposition 1E — Divert mental health funds: NO

• Proposition 1F — Legislators’ salaries: NO

For explanations of our endorsements as well as the endorsements of eight other California progressive organizations, please click here to download our two-page Voter Guide from our web site:

http://www.couragecampaign.org…

With many vote-by-mail ballots already in the hands of voters, please help us spread the word to as many progressives as possible in California. You can start today by forwarding this email and Voter Guide to your family and friends.

No matter what the voters decide on May 19, we must be prepared on May 20 to fight for fair and progressive solutions to our budget and economic crisis.We will be contacting you soon to let you know what you can do to fix California’s broken government.

Rick Jacobs

Chair, Courage Campaign