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‘Cost Me the Election’: Data Centers Trigger Voter Backlash

posted by hubie on Sunday June 28, @12:19PM   Printer-friendly

owl writes:

https://www.newsweek.com/cost-me-the-election-data-centers-trigger-voter-backlash-12118327

A wave of voter anger over massive data center projects is beginning to reshape U.S. politics, with local officials and senior lawmakers losing elections after backing controversial developments tied to the artificial intelligence boom.

In Utah on Wednesday, State Senate President J. Stuart Adams—one of the most powerful Republicans in the state—lost his primary election after supporting a major data center development near the Great Salt Lake, in one of the clearest signs yet of the growing political risks tied to the industry.

At the local level, the fallout was just as direct. "Do I think that the data center vote cost me the election? Yes I do," former Box Elder County Commissioner Lee Perry said after conceding his primary race, after voting to advance the same project.

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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday June 28, @10:48PM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday June 28, @10:48PM (#1446583) Journal

    This happened because the wealthy and the corporations bought their access and used that access to get lawmakers to support the data center they wanted to build. In this case, enough people got pissed off about how the wealthy and the corporations used their ability to be more equal than others, and took action.

    Exactly.

    Too often, it doesn't work out that way. I'm sure people like Ansley Brown [x.com] would find your words comforting when Georgia Power wants to use eminent domain to take her mother's home to build infrastructure for a data center in Coweta County [11alive.com]. I suppose she should be glad that the developers of the data center in Fayette County can buy all the access they want to get their project approved and take whatever private property they want to get their data center. We sure wouldn't want to inconvenience the poor, mistreated wealthy people and large corporations to respect everyone else's rights.

    We'll see what happens with that case.