PNM spends $440K in races for its regulator

Money for political action committee went to support commission incumbents

The company that probably powers your home is wielding a very different kind of power ahead of Tuesday’s primary election.

Public Service Company of New Mexico’s parent corporation pumped $440,000 over just the last few weeks into a political action committee promoting two incumbents for seats on the Public Regulation Commission and knocking their challengers.

The five-member commission regulates PNM, the state’s largest electric utility. And the contributions made the company the top donor to PACs during the latest campaign finance reporting period.

Indeed, most of the PACs raising and spending the biggest amounts of money during the last several weeks were targeting the same Public Regulation Commission races. These efforts are to either keep commissioners supported by the energy industry in their seats or replace them with candidates backed by environmentalists.

In a year when New Mexico politics is dominated by talk of who will become the next governor, the energy sector and conservation groups are colliding in races that typically draw less attention. But for the contributors, they may ultimately prove just as consequential. Each corner is spending big to sway voters.

The Public Regulation Commission has power over the rates electric utilities such as PNM can charge customers. That can have a big influence on the sources of energy these utilities invest in and develop — a big issue in the ongoing debate over coal vs. renewable energy sources.

In the northwestern corner of the state, Janene Yazzie is running for the regulatory commission’s District 4 seat with the backing of environmental groups. They say incumbent Lynda Lovejoy has been too friendly to electric utilities. With no Republican running, the primary election will almost certainly decide this race.

In the southwestern corner of the state, former state senator Steve Fischmann is running to represent District 5 on the regulatory body and also is enjoying the backing of major environmental organizations that say incumbent Sandy Jones is deferential to the energy industry.

The new political committee funded by PNM has gone on the attack against the challengers. And while it is a Democratic Party primary, the attacks appear directed by consultants tied to the GOP.

The group, New Mexicans for Progress, spent more than $200,000 during the last several weeks — more than any other PAC in the state during the same period.

Most of that money was spent on advertising and mailers produced by McCleskey Media Strategies. That is the firm of a top adviser to Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.

Mailers shared by newspaper readers show McCleskey has produced ads supporting Lovejoy and Jones while bashing their opponents.

Pahl Shipley, a spokesman for PNM Resources, said the company’s donations to the PAC are “legal, appropriate and necessary to help ensure a fair election.”

“PNM Resources is supporting New Mexicans for Progress to ensure that voters have the facts regarding key energy and economic issues that will impact our customers and the state as a whole,” he said.

A leading critic of the company said the spending was “shocking but not surprising.”

“There’s no longer even the pretense of regulation. When PNM’s parent company spends $440,000 to bankroll the regulators of their choice, we have to seriously question the ability of the commission to govern on behalf of the public,” said Mariel Nanasi, executive director of the nonprofit group New Energy Economy.

Nanasi called the actions “the definition of corruption.”

The energy sector also is backing the PAC that spent the second-largest amount of money of any group during the latest campaign finance reporting period, from May 8 to May 29.

New Mexico Strong PAC raised $224,250 from Chevron and $50,000 from Mack Energy. It then spent about $120,000 on advertising and mailers with a Virginia-based firm, Revolution Media.

In its campaign finance reports, the group said it is supporting state Sen. George Muñoz in a three-way Democratic primary race for land commissioner, as well as state Reps. Debbie Rodella of Río Arriba County and Carl Trujillo of Santa Fe County. Rodella and Trujillo are being challenged by progressive Democrats in the primary election.

Verde Voters Fund, a PAC linked to Conservation Voters New Mexico, has been running ads promoting Fischmann and Yazzie, as well as land commissioner candidate Garrett VeneKlasen, while attacking their rivals.

And these efforts have drawn support from far outside New Mexico.

The group got a boost, too, with $150,000 from former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. During the same period, it reported spending about $90,000, mostly on advertising.

Another major PAC that has sprouted up in the last few months, Responsible Leadership NM, also is supporting Fischmann and Yazzie.

The group spent $117,000 on outreach efforts, including chapter house organizing on the Navajo Nation.

The group reported raising $35,000 from Bloomberg, too, and another $20,000 from a liberal group known as State Victory Action, which tax records show is funded in large part by financier George Soros.

New Mexico law limits the amount of money that individuals and corporations can give to some PACs. But a PAC is not bound by those limits if it is not coordinating with a candidate. These groups, making what are known as independent expenditures, are free to raise unlimited sums of cash.

Responsible Leadership NM and Verde Voters ranked third and fourth, respectively, for spending by PACs in the last few weeks.