Ethica Media LLC is a political consulting firm incorporated in 2018 that caters to a number of left-leaning and Democratic Party clients. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the firm was ranked 43rd among the top 50 vendors in the 2018 election cycle, reporting $13.9 million in receipts from candidates, political parties, PACs, and outside spending groups.

Background

Ethica Media LLC is a political consulting firm that works for left-leaning advocacy groups, Democratic Party candidates and political action committees supporting Democrats.

Carole Mundy is listed as the primary agent of the limited liability company, according to Open Corporates. ¹ Mundy is a Democratic consultant and media buyer. ²

Ethica Media was incorporated in April 2018 in Washington, D.C., according to Open Corporates. It has an office in New York. ³ However, Mundy used the company name in a 2017 letter. The company did not have political activity in 2016 or earlier.

Mundy joined a coalition of 16 liberal groups in October 2018 asking Facebook and Google to support the Honest Ads Act, a proposal to sanction dishonest political advertising, and fend off against future foreign propaganda interference. ⁴

Mundy is the second signature on the letter. Her name is listed as being with Ethica Media/Political Transparency Project. The signers, billed as being civic groups and experts, included the liberal advocacy groups Campaign Legal Center, People for the American Way, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Common Cause, Democracy 21, and U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group). ⁵

Critics of the legislation said if the law passed, it would be more likely to muzzle American citizens than Russian trolls. ⁶

2018 Election Cycle

Despite being a new firm, during the 2018 midterm election cycle, it ranked 43rd among the top 50 vendors, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The firm reported $13.9 million in total revenue from candidates, political parties, PACs, and outside spending groups. Of that, $11.8 million came from committee expenditures and more than $2 million came from independent expenditures. ⁷

The largest payment to the firm was $4.4 million from the Congressional campaign of Antonio Delgado (D-NY). The next largest was spending was $2.4 million from the congressional campaign of Lauren Underwood (D-IL). This was followed by a $2.1 million from Lauren Bear, an unsuccessful Democratic congressional candidate in Florida. Nancy Soderberg, another unsuccessful Democratic congressional candidate from Florida, paid the firm $1.1 million. ⁸

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent $1.4 million on the firm’s services. The Leadership Alliance paid the company $1.4 million. All of the other candidates and committees paid less than $500,000 for the firm’s services in 2018, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. ⁹

Ethica Media made $1,845,150 during the 2019 Chicago municipal elections. ¹⁰

The firm is reportedly part of dark money operation “Maine Momentum” targeting the re-election of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). Ethica Media arranged for the advertising slots to air anti-Collins advertisements on local TV stations across Maine. ¹¹

1. Ethica Media LLC. Open Corporates. Accessed October 4, 2019.  https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_dc/EXTUID_4210850
2. Carole Mundy. LinkedIn. Accessed October, 4, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carole-mundy-421b106/detail/recent-activity/posts/
3. Ethica Media LLC. Open Corporates. Accessed October 4, 2019.  https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_dc/EXTUID_4210850
4. Press Release. “Letter: Groups Urge Facebook, Google to Endorse Hones Ads Act, Protect U.S. Elections.” People For The American Way. October 30, 2017. Accessed October 4, 2019. http://www.pfaw.org/blog-posts/letter-groups-urge-facebook-and-google-to-endorse-honest-ads-act-protect-u-s-elections/
5. Press Release. “Letter: Groups Urge Facebook, Google to Endorse Hones Ads Act, Protect U.S. Elections.” People For The American Way. October 30, 2017. Accessed October 4, 2019. http://www.pfaw.org/blog-posts/letter-groups-urge-facebook-and-google-to-endorse-honest-ads-act-protect-u-s-elections/
6. York, John.  “The ‘Hones Ads Act’ Will Hurt American Citizens, Not Russian Trolls.” Holland (Michigan) Sentinel. May 31, 2019. Accessed October 4, 2019. https://www.hollandsentinel.com/opinion/20190531/john-york-honest-ads-act-will-hurt-american-citizens-not-russian-trolls
7. Top Vendors 2018. OpenSecrets.org. Accessed October 4, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/expends/vendors.php?year=2018&type=media
8. Top Vendors 2018. OpenSecrets.org. Accessed October 4, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/expends/vendors.php?year=2018&type=media
9. Ethica Media. Vendor Recipient. OpenSecrets.org. Accessed October 4, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/expends/vendor.php?year=2018&vendor=Ethica+Media
10. Kiefer, Matt; Lynch, La Risa; McGhee, Josh; Mustafa, Asraa. “Money, Money, Money: 13 Takeaways From Chicago’s Historic Election.” The Chicago Reporter. May 3, 2019. Accessed October 4, 2019.  https://www.chicagoreporter.com/money-money-money-13-takeaways-from-chicagos-historic-election/
11. Collins, Steve. “Democratic ‘Dark Money’ Group Targets Susan Collins.” The Sun-Journal. August 13, 2019. Accessed October 4, 2019.  https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/08/13/democratic-dark-money-group-targets-susan-collins/