This article was published by New Mexico In Depth. Read more at https://nmindepth.com.
The New Mexico State Ethics Commission is putting pressure on a dark money political group to comply with state disclosure laws.
The new group made a splash in April when it began airing radio ads, and its founder, Jeff Apodaca, promoted its political agenda on local radio shows. But unlike other political groups, the New Mexico Project didn’t disclose who contributed to the organization, or how it was spending the money, leaving the public in the dark about the special interests underwriting the group.
In its filing, the commission laid out its case and evidence that the group meets the criteria for registering as a political committee:
- One, it’s an association of two or more people – easily found, along with an Albuquerque address, in its incorporation record on the Secretary of State’s website.
- Two, the group has received more than $5,000 in contributions – easily found in a search of campaign reports of other political groups. In this case, NM NAIOP PAC gave the group $15,000 in May, which is “conclusive of the monetary-threshold element for being a political committee.” The filing also states the group’s founder, Jeff Apodaca, told local media that he’d raised hundreds of thousands.
- Three, the group has met the criteria for reporting political activity, in this case thousands spent on advertising on the radio, Facebook, and a website.
- And four, the group’s primary purpose is to support candidates running for office, the commission asserted – using Apodaca’s own words on local radio programs. Such activity is political, triggering public disclosure of contributions and expenditures exceeding certain levels according to the state’s Campaign Reporting Act, the motion argued.