Friend,

Every year, in every town from Shasta to San Diego, big money interests
flood campaign coffers with donations -- trying to persuade politicians to
prioritize corporate profits over people.

And every year, Courage California is there to call them out.

For the last 10 years, our Courage Score has spotlighted the Hall of Shame
-- lawmakers who rake in oil, real estate, and other industry dollars and
then vote accordingly.

And it features All Stars, who never fail to vote for their constituents
on key issues from affordable housing to curbing climate pollution.

[ [link removed] ]In 2025, we’ll continue to watchdog big money in politics and the
politicians doing the corporations’ bidding. Will you donate to support
this vital work? Your donation will be DOUBLED by a generous donor, up to
$10,000!

[ [link removed] ]YOUR DONATION MATCHED

Few California industries are more powerful -- or have deeper pockets --
than the oil & gas lobby. In one recent year, the industry spent nearly
$100,000 every single day lobbying Sacramento legislators to protect its
interests.(1)

On our most recent Courage Score, the oil and gas lobby’s efforts paid off
with many members of the Hall of Shame.

Take Assembly member Avelino Valencia. Though he represents parts of
Orange County especially vulnerable to pollution and wildfire smoke, he
ducked the vote on three key measures to curb dangerous emissions -- all
while taking tens of thousands from oil and gas interests.(2) And now he
is running for a 2026 State Senate seat, where he’d be one of only 40
votes.

Or, there’s Stephanie Nguyen. During her 2022 campaign for the State
Assembly, Nguyen accepted over $900,000 in donations from a PAC funded
primarily by Big Oil. She, too, failed to vote on a cross-section of
progressive bills in the 2023 session.(3) And she’s in leadership as the
Assistant Speaker pro Tempore of the Assembly.

The list goes on and on.

Now, with the 2024 session wrapped, we’re compiling a Courage Score to go
with it, including progressive All Stars and Hall of Shamers who rarely
fail to do corporations’ bidding. This is a resource-intensive project,
and we need your help. But the good news is that if you donate before
December 31, your gift will be MATCHED 100% by a generous donor!

[ [link removed] ]With your help, we thoroughly research our score and distribute it to
strengthen our state’s democracy. Will you make a year-end donation to
help call out big money in politics in 2025? All donations up to $10,000
will be matched 100%!

Thank you for being with us.

–Irene, along with Annie, Angela, Isidra, Cecilia, Jen, and Lindsay (the
Courage team)

 

[ [link removed] ]SUPPORT OUR WORK

Footnotes:
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Courage California (formerly Courage Campaign) makes sure our democracy works for ALL of us by fighting corruption in California politics. We believe the solution lies in exposing and solving systemic problems through strategic organizing, enhancing coordination between progressive organizations, and mobilizing civic engagement from our communities, particularly voters of color, young voters, and self-identified progressives.

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