The State Ethics Commission has reached a settlement agreement with Elevate New Mexico, the secretive organization behind an extensive advertising campaign in support of the divisive data center Project Jupiter, according to a news release Tuesday.
Elevate New Mexico, a limited liability company registered in Virginia, urged members of the public earlier this year to reach out to Environment Secretary James Kenney and submit comments supporting approval of the massive data center’s air quality permit. Their sustained marketing campaign coincided with the state energy department’s public comment period.
Under the recent settlement, Elevate New Mexico agreed to file the lobbying advertising campaign registration and campaign finance disclosures with the secretary of state and the ethics commission, the news release states.
According to filed documents, Elevate New Mexico received nearly $3.7 million in contributions, all from Yucca Growth Infrastructure LLC — the developers behind Project Jupiter — and reported nearly $419,500 in advertising expenditures: $85,898 to Analytics Pros Inc. for digital advertising services, $80,421 to Meta Platforms Inc., for social media advertising; $52,415 to Wilkins Media LLC, for billboard and out-of-home advertising; $51,468 to Malbert Media for direct mail, and $42,500 to Continuum Media for television advertising.
Elevate New Mexico also provided smaller amounts to local media for advertising, including Albuquerque Publishing, The Taos News (a sister publication to The New Mexican), Las Cruces Sun-News/USA Today and radio stations.
“Project Jupiter has attracted widespread public attention because of its potential economic, environmental, and energy impacts for New Mexico,” State Ethics Commission Deputy Director Amelia Bierle said in a statement. “These disclosures reveal the significant financial resources devoted to influencing both the public and, indirectly, the NMED officials considering the permits required for Project Jupiter. By enforcing the Lobbyist Regulation Act, the State Ethics Commission ensures that this information is publicly available, allowing New Mexicans to evaluate advertising campaigns with an understanding of who financed them, the magnitude of the financial resources behind them and how those resources were deployed.”
The commission originally filed a lawsuit April 17 alleging that since Elevate New Mexico spent at least $2,500 on their advertising campaign, they violated the Lobbyist Regulation Act by refusing to register or provide information regarding expenditures and contributions.
“Unlike political campaign mailers, the mailers did not contain any information disclosing who paid for them,” the lawsuit reads.
Despite reaching the settlement, Elevate New Mexico’s website still fails to list who is behind the elusive organization. Their LinkedIn claims to have 1,000-5,000 employees, but the employees section claims to have “0 associated members on LinkedIn.”
Elevate New Mexico lists Steve Roberts and Lex Politica as its counsel in the settlement — a conservative law firm specializing in campaign finance and political law. Lex Politica’s CEO, Chris Gober, has represented Elon Musk, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Roberts, a Lex Politica co-founder, previously worked at the political law firm Holtzman Vogel, where his past clients reportedly include the National Republican Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee.
“As reflected in the settlement agreement with the New Mexico State Ethics Commission, Elevate New Mexico has complied with all relevant disclosure laws for its outreach to New Mexicans,” Roberts wrote in an email. “However, in the spirit of good faith, we agreed to file the requested disclosures. We appreciate the opportunity to resolve this matter.”
Roberts would not respond to specific questions about the individuals behind Elevate New Mexico.
