Group linked to Meta data center supporters discloses $63,000 in El Paso election spending, keeps donors secret
The Sun City Coalition disclosed more than $63,000 in spending on El Paso City Council mailers, including an attack on data center critic Chris Canales, but did not identify its donors. Two coalition directors publicly supported Meta's El Paso data center, while the third works for the El Paso Chamber, which also backs the project; Meta denied involvement in the mailer.
The newly formed Sun City Coalition reported spending more than $63,000 on El Paso City Council election mailers, including more than $18,000 targeting District 8 incumbent Chris Canales and another $45,000 in three other districts. The group disclosed its expenditures only after being questioned by El Paso Matters and did not identify its donors. The mailer was not labeled as political advertising, potentially raising issues under Texas campaign finance and election advertising rules overseen by the Texas Ethics Commission.
Two of the coalition's three directors, Eddie Trevizo and Sundt Construction project manager Angelica Rosales, spoke in favor of Meta's El Paso data center at a June City Council meeting. The third director, Odette De Leon, works for the El Paso Chamber, whose CEO Ricardo Mora supported preserving the incentive agreement. Canales has criticized the project and backed steps toward terminating the agreement, but the council voted 5-3 to keep it intact. Meta said it had no involvement in the mailer.