Democratic incumbent Greg Landsman has proposed legislation that would bar officials from signing nondisclosure agreements when negotiating data center deals a bill his Republican challenger Eric Conroy says he would support if he wins the seat.
WCPO 9 anchor Frank Marzullo spoke one-on-one with both men on data center regulations. Landsman said communities across the country are being shut out of data center negotiations conducted behind closed doors, and that federal guidelines are needed to protect both towns and ratepayers.
"We need to protect our towns and our ratepayers. And to say, well, this is a local decision is to say you're on your own, and I don't think that's fair to towns and ratepayers," Landsman said.
Landsman pushed back on the argument that federal protections would undercut local authority, saying they would in fact give communities more leverage including the ability to put data center decisions to a community vote.
WATCH: One-on-one with Democratic incumbent Greg Landsman on data centers
Pt 1 congressional candidate"Let's have it. If a community wants to go to the ballot. They can do that. Nothing about federal guidelines or federal protections precludes local control. In fact, it just gives them more leverage, and that, I think, is what people want, which is to say, yeah, maybe a data center is OK, but I want to say I don't want the data center to come in. Without me knowing any of the details, buy up a bunch of land, jack up my utility bill, and take all our water. That's they want to be protected," Landsman said.
When told his opponent had expressed support for the bill, Landsman reacted positively.
"Yes, yes, it's a great bill," Landsman said.
Marzullo spoke with Conroy, who told him he would support the legislation if he were in the House. Conroy said data centers are primarily a local matter, but agreed that all negotiations must be conducted openly and in public view.
WATCH: One-on-one with Republican challenger Eric Conroy on data centers
Pt 2 congressional candidate"First and foremost, I think it's a local issue. So if a local community decides that they want a data center, I'll help them with that. If they decide they don't want a data center, I'll also help them with that. But I think what's very important is that all the debates and discussions are above board and for the public to hear. We need big tech to foot most of the bill, whether that's with utilities or other facilities needed in a community, right? If we lost the battle for the internet 30 years ago as a country, we'd be in a very different spot. So I think we should keep an open mind on data centers, but at the same," Conroy said.
