Dark money group alleged to be violating state campaign laws

Who has been footing the bill for the so-called “dark money” campaign ads of a group claiming to back New Mexico moderates and pro-business candidates in this year’s elections?

The group, called The New Mexico Project, has yet to file public campaign finance reports divulging its contributors and its contributions to candidates, says the State Ethics Commission. The June 4 primary is over. But the Nov. 5 general election season is just months away.

So the commission has gone to court to “stop Defendants’ ongoing efforts to frustrate the public’s right to know.”

“Voters in New Mexico are entitled to know who is paying to influence their votes ...,” stated the commission in a May 24 lawsuit filed in state district court in Albuquerque. The commission asked the court to intervene so voters can get information about who is funding the campaign ads “before they vote.”

The commission sued Jeff Apodaca as the group’s president, contending in a lawsuit that Apodaca and the nonprofit group are violating the state Campaign Reporting Act. Apodaca, a former media executive and son of former New Mexico Gov. Jerry Apodaca, ran unsuccessfully in the 2018 Democratic primary for governor.

Apodaca hasn’t filed a formal response, except to remove the lawsuit to federal court in Albuquerque last week. His attorneys contended in the removal motion that the ethics commission is asserting claims “implicating the exercise of rights protected by the U.S. Constitution.”

Apodaca referred a Journal inquiry about TNMP Inc. to his attorney, A. Blair Dunn, who couldn’t be reached for comment on Monday.

The New Mexico Project’s website states that it “has identified key state and county races as strategic priorities, where our influence can sway pivotal outcomes and shape the future political landscape of the state. By focusing our efforts on these critical battlegrounds, we aim to empower the moderate Latino electorate and ensure their voices are heard at every level of governance.”

But there’s no contact information on the website for the group or its organizers, who aren’t identified. Click the “Get Involved” link, and a solicitation to donate money comes up. Another link, “Have questions?” provides only information to make donations.

The ethics commission lawsuit cites a radio interview Apodaca gave May 1 during which he reportedly said, “We can go raise as much money as we want. We don’t have to disclose our donors. So that’s why people, companies (and) organizations don’t have to worry about them being attacked.”

The commission also contends that Apodaca has publicly stated that the New Mexico Project received “close to $1 million” in contributions.

The lawsuit states that the state ethics agency has the constitutional and statutory authority to ensure compliance with the reporting law, including the authority to commence a civil action seeking a “permanent or temporary injunction.”

And that’s what commission executive director Jeremy Farris asked for last week after Apodaca’s group still hadn’t registered with the Secretary of State, or disclose its expenditures and the sources of contributions “to be minimally transparent about who funds those advertisements and advocacy efforts.”

Before a preliminary injunction hearing could occur before a state district judge, Apodaca’s attorneys last Wednesday removed the case to federal court, where an initial hearing is set for Aug. 19.

The ethics commission objected Friday, saying the commission’s lawsuit “does not raise a scintilla of a federal issue.” The commission asked for the case to be sent back to state court. On Monday, a U.S. magistrate judge in Albuquerque canceled the August federal hearing. But it wasn’t clear where the case ultimately will land.

In bringing the lawsuit, the commission noted that in the months leading up to the June 4 primary election, The New Mexico Project made advertisements supporting “pro-moderate” and “pro-business” candidates seeking election for eight House districts and seven Senate districts.

The group, the lawsuit stated, “also identifies and advocates for candidates which it believes support key industries to New Mexico, including the oil and gas industry.”

During a recent Albuquerque radio interview, Apodaca confirmed his “project” will continue to make its dark money campaign ads beyond the primary election and into the general election, the commission lawsuit alleged.

A political committee is defined under state law as an association that consists of a two or more people “whose primary purpose is to make independent expenditures and that has received more than $5,000 in contributions or made independent expenditures of more than $5,000 in the election cycle.” The commission states that TNMP has three directors, including Apodaca.

Moreover, the lawsuit stated, on April 17, the New Mexico Project received $15,000 from NM NAIOP PAC (the commercial real estate development association). The NAIOP political action committee reported making that expenditure in its required filings.

Apodaca has publicly stated that the group’s primary objective is to “educate moderate Latino voters on the best candidates to vote for.” Apodaca described his group on the May 1 Bob Clark radio show on 96.3 KKOB as an “educational independent expenditure,” the commission lawsuit states.

All money raised is from New Mexicans, Apodaca was quoted as saying, “whether it is industries, businesses or individuals.”