Assemblywoman Jauregui’s Employment With Progressive Consulting Firm Raises Ethical Concerns

Prior to President Biden’s last visit to Nevada, Governor Joe Lombardo announced that he was calling on President Biden to release public lands for affordable housing development. Moments later, Nevada Democratic Assembly Majority Leader Sandra Jauregui (AD-41) attacked Governor Lombardo on X (formerly Twitter), voiced her opposition to his calls for freeing federal land for affordable housing development, and blamed him for the affordable housing “crisis.”

When you can’t defend vetoing affordable housing bills and rent stabilization for seniors to benefit your top donors, you put out a statement like this… talk about deflecting. You’re the reason we don’t have affordability in housing. End of story.https://t.co/A3VGpYg37c

— Sandra Jauregui (@sandra4nv) March 19, 2024

Jauregui’s public statements place her at odds with her Democratic congressional colleagues. Congresswoman Susie Lee (CD-3) has vocally sided with the Governor Lombardo on this topic. Senator Jacky Rosen has also put forward legislation to free up federal lands for affordable housing, as has Senator Catherine Cortez Masto.

According to financial disclosures filed with the Nevada Secretary of State, Jauregui is employed by Hilltop Public Solutions (HPS).

According to Influence Watch, “Hilltop Public Solutions (HPS) is a left-of-center political consulting firm that manages Democratic political and left-of-center advocacy campaigns. The company’s clients have included the campaigns of former President Barack Obama, 2016 Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton, and numerous U.S. Senate and congressional candidate campaigns.The company has also worked for environmentalist advocacy groups including Tom Steyer’s NextGen Climate Action and the League of Conservation Voters, liberal opposition research groups American Bridge 21st Century and People for the American Way, the far-left legislative advocacy group Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).”

Megan Jones, Senior Political Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris, is a partner at HPS and is married to Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones (District F) who is embroiled in a housing development scandal which may financially imperil the largest county in Nevada–a Democratic stronghold who hasn’t had a Republican commissioner in decades.

During his County Commissioner campaign bid to stop a housing development adjacent to Red Rock National Park, a federal judge later found that Jones purposefully lied to the court and destroyed evidence.  The lawsuit by developer Gypsom Resources against Clark County is currently ongoing.

Jauregui was also recognized as a client of Hilltop in 2016 when she first ran for State Assembly. Hilltop was also retained by the Nevada Democratic Party.

Last year, the White House designated Avi Kwa Ame, as a national monument, which was opposed by Governor Lombardo for “making land more expensive and more difficult to develop for affordable housing and critical infrastructure projects.” In a released statement, Lombardo warned:

“Since I took office, the Biden White House has not consulted with my administration about any of the details of the proposed Avi Kwa Ame national monument which, given the size of the proposal, seems badly out of step. Upon learning that the President was considering unilateral action, I reached out to the White House to raise several concerns, citing the potential for terminal disruption of rare earth mineral mining projects and long-planned, bi-partisan economic development efforts. While I’m still waiting for a response, I’m not surprised. This kind of ‘Washington Knows Best’ policy might win plaudits from unaccountable special interests, but it’s going to cost our state jobs and economic opportunity – all while making land more expensive and more difficult to develop for affordable housing and critical infrastructure projects. The federal confiscation of 506,814 acres of Nevada land is a historic mistake that will cost Nevadans for generations to come.”

Megan Jones has a history of supporting similar moves by the federal government to turn federal lands into monuments instead of development areas:

The alliances between Megan Jones, Sandra Jauregui, and Hilltop Public Solution are public but raise many ethical questions. Is Assemblywoman Jauregui paid by Hilltop Solutions to oppose releasing federal lands for affordable housing? Is the Biden campaign leaning on Jauregui to oppose affordable housing in Nevada for their political benefit? As the federal government owns nearly 90 percent of land in Nevada, will Jauregui continue to lobby to block affordable housing development by restricting federal land?

Attempts to reach Jauregui for comment went unanswered. We will provide her comments when and if received.