A group called the Sun City Coalition filed a disclosure with the El Paso City Clerk's Office on Tuesday, reporting it had spent more than $18,000 on mailers criticizing Chris Canales, the incumbent in City Council District 8. The mailers did not carry a political advertising label, and the group filed its campaign finance disclosures only after questions from El Paso Matters, the news outlet reported.
Two of the group's three directors spoke in support of the Meta Platforms data center at a June 9 City Council meeting, and the third works for the El Paso Chamber, which has supported the project, according to the report. Canales voted for the data center incentive agreement in 2023 and has since become a critic of the plan. The disclosure also shows another $45,000 in planned mail spending in Districts 1, 5 and 6, where incumbents Alejandra Chavez, Ivan Niño and Art Fierro have supported the data center.
The group has not disclosed who donated more than $63,000 for independent expenditures, which El Paso Matters described as an unprecedented amount for El Paso City Council races. Eddie Trevizo, one of three people listed as officers of the nonprofit, said, "We will provide all the information we are legally required to provide." Trevizo, who leads a union local representing El Paso Electric workers on the Meta project, said he has little doubt the mailers were sent because of his public opposition to Meta.