National energy super PAC faces ethics complaint over spending in NM land commissioner race

American Energy Action Fund, a super political action committee that has thrown its weight behind a New Mexico Democratic land commissioner candidate, is facing a state ethics complaint over its alleged failure to disclose spending details.

The Virginia-based fund, which says it boosts candidates who advocate for renewable energy, has purchased mailers and text message campaigns in support of Juan de Jesus Sanchez III, who is running in the three-person Democratic primary for state land commissioner.

Source NM recently reported that, according to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office, the fund has not complied with state law that requires out-of-state super PACs to submit certain spending records to the state.

Federal filings show the company in February spent nearly $700,000 on a “non-federal” campaign that includes digital advertising, text messages and mail, but the filings do not specify which race or races the campaign supported, or where those elections are taking place.

Dede Feldman, a good-government advocate, who served as a Democratic state senator representing Albuquerque for more than a decade, filed a complaint Friday with the New Mexico State Ethics Commission, citing Source NM’s reporting.

Feldman recently endorsed state Rep. Matthew McQueen (D-Galisteo), who is running against Sanchez in the primary, as is Jonas Moya.

She told Source NM on Friday that an out-of-state organization seeking to influence a New Mexico election should have been able to meet the “easy, but critical” requirement of filing records in New Mexico, a state already plagued with a weak campaign finance reporting system.

“There are a lot of loopholes whereby nonprofits can escape reporting who their donors are or who their expenditures are right now in our state law,” she said.

Sanchez previously told Source NM he had no information about the fund or why it had purchased text messages and mailers on his behalf.

Feldman’s complaint says the organization violated a state law that requires out-of-state super PACs to send the Secretary of State’s Office either a copy of their federal campaign finance filings or excerpts that detail how much the organizations spend on New Mexico candidates.

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By failing to file the proper paperwork, she said the Super PAC deprived voters information during a race for a “critically important” elected position in the state, one that oversees energy production and transmission for data centers, among other projects.

“Out-of-state corporations with deep pockets should not be allowed to influence our elections without even a minimal level of transparency,” her complaint said..

Without additional financial disclosures, Feldman said voters don’t know how much money the super PAC spent here and how widespread their campaign has been, among other issues.

The American Energy Action Fund did not respond to Source NM’s request for comment Friday about the complaint.

SEC Director Jeremy Farris told Feldman in an email Friday that he would “look into” the matter and that the commission will meet next June 15, which is nearly two weeks after the June 2 primary concludes, to authorize investigations or remedial actions.