New Mexico State Ethics Commission says Oracle’s $3.4M Project Jupiter ads sought to sway permitting

The New Mexico State Ethics Commission on Wednesday said that the tech giant Oracle spent more than $3.4 million in recent months on advertisements meant to influence the New Mexico Environment Department’s air quality permitting process for the Project Jupiter data center.

In a statement, the commission said it was “likely the largest lobbying advertising campaign ever disclosed in New Mexico,” and noted that it reached a voluntary agreement with Oracle to disclose its advertising expenditures before taking further legal action against the company.

Specifically, the commission said Oracle sought to influence New Mexico Environment Department officials who have the power to approve or deny the data center’s proposed energy source, a natural-gas powered fuel cell system. Projections filed with the state show that, if approved, the system would emit as many greenhouse gases annually as New Mexico’s largest cities combined.

The ethics commission noted that Oracle created the projectjupitertogether.com website that includes a form letter visitors can sign to ask NMED officials to approve the pending air quality permit application. It also cited a statewide effort in which paid canvassers solicited favorable public comments for the permit application and paid sponsored content that appeared on the social media profiles of New Mexico-based social media influencers.

Oracle’s advertising campaign report shows the company spent $3.4 million between January and April on media production, polling and consulting. The NMED air quality permit hearing was initially scheduled to begin Monday, but is on hold while an environmental group’s challenge is pending before the New Mexico Supreme Court.

The company exclusively paid the national consulting firm Brabender Cox for these services, according to the report. The firm’s website lists locations in Washington, D.C., Dallas, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, New York and Indianapolis.

Its founder, John Brabender, has worked as a consultant and adviser to Republican political campaigns, including those for President Donald Trump and Rick Santorum. His firm has also done work for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Vice President Mike Pence, according to an archived copy of its website.

Neither Oracle nor Brabender Cox immediately responded to requests for comment.

Wednesday’s announcement comes after Source NM revealed that residents and state lawmakers reported seeing their names wrongfully signed to public comments in support of Project Jupiter. Source NM also revealed that a marketing firm approached local social media influencers about promoting the data center and helping to “increase positive comments” on its website. Oracle in July denied any involvement with such efforts, and said the company supported the state’s investigation.

In addition, the State Ethics Commission recently settled a lawsuit it brought against a separate company over an unrelated pro-Project Jupiter advertising campaign.

In March, Source NM identified a Virginia-based company named Elevate New Mexico as the anonymous author of pro-Project Jupiter mailers and digital ads that appeared in New Mexicans’ mailboxes and social media feeds.

The State Ethics Commission sued the group in April and accused it of violating the state Lobbyist Regulation Act. It settled the case in August.

Expenditure filings in that case showed that one of Project Jupiter’s developers had paid the Virginia-based Elevate New Mexico nearly $3.7 million.

“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 at the time. “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.”