FORT MEADE, Fla. — A proposed data center that has sparked months of debate in the small Polk County community of Fort Meade is now becoming part of a much larger political conversation.
Monday, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon headlined a town hall in Fort Meade, where she outlined what she says the federal government should do as data center projects expand across the country and seek to break ground in Florida.
WATCH: Data center fight becomes a Senate campaign issue
Under heavy opposition, the Fort Meade project was approved by the city commission in April. However, opposition has continued, and concerns about the impact of large data centers on electricity costs and the state’s water supply have become prominent across Florida.
Political analyst Susan MacManus, a University of South Florida professor, said the issue is gaining attention not only in Florida but nationally and could help shape the November election.
“For a lot of Floridians, they’re very worried and very informed about the fact that the cost of electricity might go up, but more importantly, there’s a concern … that the water supply might be diminished,” MacManus said.
Florida lawmakers have already enacted some new safeguards for large-scale data centers. But candidates for U.S. Senate are emphasizing different approaches to what should come next.
Nixon has called for no new data center construction until federal guardrails are in place. She says those safeguards should include transparency, environmental review and community input.
“We’re going to figure out a way in which we can bring about stronger regulations, so that ‘We the People’ are in control,” Nixon said ahead of the Fort Meade town hall.
She also criticized what she described as a lack of transparency surrounding large corporate developments.
“Oftentimes, things get done in the dead of night when it comes to big corporations coming in, and we want to make sure that that does not happen,” Nixon said.
Nixon said she also wants communities to receive economic benefits if data centers are built and have negative economic impacts.
Republican U.S. Senator Ashley Moody, who is running for reelection, has also emphasized safeguards. Moody said consumers should not be left paying the costs associated with data centers and that environmental protections and local input are important.
“I have been very clear that we need to make sure that folks aren’t bearing the burden of any of these centers — that they don’t have to bear any of the costs, that we protect the environment, and local governments have a say,” Moody said in an August interview on Fox News.
Moody has also emphasized local decision-making when it comes to whether a community should host a data center.
“It needs to be up to the people of a community or a state to decide what works best for them,” she said during the interview with Fox.
MacManus says the issue could help decide close races in November, particularly in communities where data centers have become a major concern.
“Let me tell you, the people there who are hot about it don’t care if a candidate’s a Democrat or a Republican. If they’re going to do something about that issue, they’re interested in hearing their plans,” she said.
And that’s playing out in Fort Meade.
Raul Alfonso, an independent who recently registered as a Republican, says the data center debate has him paying close attention to Democratic candidates like Nixon.
“I don't care about party,” he said. “I pick who has the most benefit to what's going to be part of my life and my community's benefit.”
Share Your Story with Chad
Chad Mills calls Polk County home and has witnessed the area’s growth firsthand. He is focused on sharing stories from his neighbors in Lakeland. You can use the form below to connect with Chad.
.
Saudi flight from Tampa, secret FBI probe reveal possible Saudi support network for 9/11 hijackers
Twenty years after the Sept. 11 attacks, more than 80,000 records compiled by the Tampa FBI Field Office remain classified. Newly declassified documents are pointing to a possible secret Saudi support network for the hijackers. Soon after the attacks, the FBI uncovered that 15 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.
