State ethics commission wants political group held in contempt

Failing to heed court-ordered deadlines to register and disclose its donors and expenditures could cost a controversial political group daily monetary fines.

The State Ethics Commission has asked a state judge in Albuquerque to hold The New Mexico Project in contempt of court for failing to register with the state and disclose its contributions and expenditures by a Monday deadline.

State District Judge Joshua Allison hadn’t set a hearing on the request as of late Thursday.

The president of the nonprofit group, former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jeff Apodaca, contends he doesn’t need to comply with the disclosure mandates.

Allison on Aug. 28 gave Apodaca until Sept. 4 to register his group with the secretary of state as a political committee, and file reports of his group’s contributions and expenditures by Monday.

The judge in his ruling noted that “time was of the essence,” given the ongoing general election season.

Apodaca’s lawyer, A. Blair Dunn, has asked Allison to reconsider his ruling that The New Mexico Project was in violation of the state’s Campaign Reporting Act. The group has taken out ads on social media and radio to support about 15 candidates running for state Legislature this campaign year.

“At the New Mexico Project, we are driven by the belief that a vibrant and inclusive democracy is built on the active participation of diverse voices, especially those from the Latino community and Moderate perspectives,” states its website.

Dunn contended that Apodaca has suffered a “constitutional injury” in the continued enforcement action by the ethics commission. Prior to this year’s primary election on June 4, the ethics commission sent Apodaca a letter insisting he register and file required reports, but Apodaca resisted.

In a motion filed earlier this week, the ethics commission stated that imposing “escalating daily monetary fines is appropriate ... and likely to be effective to incentivize defendants’ compliance.”

Apodaca, the son of former New Mexico governor Jerry Apodaca, is a former media executive.

Dunn has suggested that the issue of noncompliance go back to the seven-member State Ethics Commission for further consideration.

“Unfortunately, the Court’s August 28th decisions represent an unusual departure from undersigned counsel’s experience and expectation for this Court’s concern for the constitutional rights of citizens caught underfoot or perhaps under the heavy hand of government,” stated a motion he filed in early September.

The judge in his ruling noted that not disclosing who is trying to influence this year’s election posed an “irreparable harm” to the public.

But Dunn’s motion stated that such harm “was commonplace and unchallenged for a hundred years of election in this state.”