Jefferson County Deserves a Fair Deal on Data Centers
On February 5, 2026, I attended the JCDA Board training on data centers alongside county leaders from Loudoun, Virginia, and Frederick, Maryland. Their experiences were different—Loudoun nearing capacity, Frederick just getting started—but their message was the same:
If you want growth done right, you involve the community first.
That means real public engagement, real transparency, and real mitigation of concerns before construction begins.
At the meeting, Potomac Edison outlined power demand and rate structures, with an estimated residential impact of about $1 per power bill. We also learned the county’s transmission line replacement is planned as a monopole setup with two new lines on existing right-of-way—a smaller footprint than traditional towers.
We also heard county tax estimates tied to data centers—but without fully accounting for HB 2014. That matters. If counties carry the burden, but the state takes most of the revenue, that’s not partnership. That’s extraction.
And with reports of massive future private investment in data centers nationwide, the pressure on counties like ours will only increase.
My Position is Clear
As a candidate for House District 99, I support smart growth—but not at any price, and never at the expense of local citizens.
I will fight for:
- Full and fair local taxation of data centers
- No blanket tax breaks just to “win” projects
- Mandatory environmental mitigation for water, power, and infrastructure impacts before approval
- Local decision authority so the people most affected still have a voice
- HB 2014 reform or repeal to restore fairness in revenue sharing and local governance
At minimum, if the county absorbs the impact, the county must receive the larger share of the tax base.
This Is About More Than Data Centers
This is about whether government works with people or over them.
Jefferson County is ready to do its part for West Virginia. But we should never be forced to accept long-term burdens without local control and fair compensation.
Local decisions must remain local.
That is not anti-business.
That is pro-accountability, pro-community, and pro-freedom.
