Anusha Mathur has a very well reported piece in The Washington Sun entitled “How the Data Center Debate Revived Local Politics in 2026.” She describes vivid examples and characters from communities like Festus, MO, “One of the first places, as far as I could tell, where the data center debate sent a jolt of life into an otherwise sleepy local political scene.” There, and in some other places, opposing a local data center has brought people into official politics for the first time and has even had benefits that “extend beyond politics”:

“People are getting together and talking,” [Festus zoning board member Rick] Belleville said. “They’re having barbecues and potlucks, getting to know their neighbors.” In a strange way, data centers have helped revive civic life in Festus. “We have subdivisions of 80 homes, for example, near the proposed site where they never really talked to each other much,” Belleville told me. “Their HOA was falling apart. Now that all 80 people know each other and they’re a real tight-knit community, this has brought them together.”

I’m quoted, saying things like this: “You can’t vote on regulating Silicon Valley. It’s not on the ballot … But if they’re going to build a data center in your community, you could block that. It’s just a leverage point, and once it’s a leverage point, it’s also an organizational opportunity.”

I think that’s true, but the article makes it real.