FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 29, 2026
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ICYMI: Dr. Amy Acton Announces Support for Conditional Moratorium On Data Centers
COLUMBUS, OH– Earlier this week, Dr. Amy Acton announced her support for a conditional moratorium on data centers if requirements on costs, union labor, transparency, environmental standards, community benefit agreements, and development are not met.
See coverage below:
On the Airwaves:
On WDTN:
Anchor: “Gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton has announced her support for a conditional moratorium on data centers. The moratorium would apply if the data center does not cover 100% of utility costs, is not exclusively built with union labor or operates without transparency through usage of NDAs.”
David Pepper: “Not one Ohioan should ever pay one dollar more because a data center is nearby… neighboring businesses shouldn’t get stuck paying more either.”
On WFMJ:
David Pepper: “One of the biggest concerns is obviously energy costs, and people are very concerned that data centers are contributing to higher energy costs where they live and across the state… We want to make it very clear to these data center companies that they cannot do the work in Ohio unless and until they pay 100% of the utility costs.”
David Pepper: “We believe strongly that the jobs that are building, maintaining, and upgrading any data centers must be done with union, labor, good jobs.”
David Pepper: “No more secrecy. If you want to do business in Ohio, it’s got to be in the open. It’s got to be transparent. No more NDAs. If you want to do it through an NDA and you want to do it through secrecy, you can go to another state, but not the state of Ohio.”
Anchor: “Amy Acton has announced she supports a conditional moratorium on these facilities. They would need to meet requirements on costs, union labor and transparency. They’d also have to comply with environmental standards and community benefit agreements.”
Anchor: “Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has said before [that] the AI data center boom is good for our region…”
On WBNS:
Anchor: “Ohio governor hopeful Dr. Amy Acton says she will support a conditional moratorium on data centers.”
On WTOL:
Anchor: “Acton says developers would have to cover all of their utility costs, use union labor, follow state environmental rules, and would be transparent with communities. She also wants new projects to create jobs in former industrial areas.”
On WLW-AM:
Host: “Democratic candidate for Governor of Ohio, Amy Acton, says she backs a state-wide conditional moratorium on new data centers. A statement from her campaign today says that she’ll take immediate action if elected to block data centers to ensure they cover 100% of their utility costs, exclusively build with union labor, and she says, adhere to Ohio’s environmental standards.”
On 90.3 WCPN:
Host: “Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton says, if elected, data centers would not be allowed to build in Ohio unless they agree to cover their own utility costs, build on former industrial sites instead of farm land, and create jobs in underserved communities, among other requirements. Her opponent, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, opposes moratoriums and says the data center boom is good for Ohio.”
In Print:
WVXU: Acton calls for conditional moratorium on new data centers
- Ohio’s Democratic candidate for governor, Amy Acton, has a message for data centers that want to come into Ohio: you must meet certain conditions before being allowed to build here.
- “No one should be paying more because a data center came to town,” Pepper said.
- Ramaswamy has been endorsed by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, which has advocated for data centers in Ohio. He’s also received sizable financial contributions to his campaign coffers from data-center-linked companies.
- A new analysis from the left-leaning think tank Innovation Ohio shows Ramaswamy will benefit from data centers since his financial disclosure reveals a personal investment portfolio that includes parts of the data center supply chain: chip manufacturers, hardware suppliers, real estate developers, and tech companies that operate data centers.
Toledo Blade: Acton seeks to ban data center construction on Ohio farmland
- Businesses would be prohibited from building new data centers on Ohio farmland under a new policy proposal from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton.
- Lyn Cox, a Monclova Township resident and regional leader of groups pushing back on data center development, called the proposal “phenomenal.”
- “If she’s seriously going to do this, I think she wins the election over it,” Ms. Cox said. “Data centers are the defining issue for either campaign right now, but putting them on brownfield sites is huge.”
Bloomberg News: Backlash Over Data Centers, Power Costs Tests GOP’s Hold on Ohio
- Democratic gubernatorial contender Amy Acton on Monday called for a conditional moratorium on data centers that would ban projects that fail to cover the entirety of their utility costs, exclusively employ unionized labor, operate with “full transparency” and fail to adhere to Ohio’s environmental standards.
Columbus Dispatch: Amy Acton proposes restrictions on Ohio data centers. What are they?
- Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton wants to block any new data centers that don’t meet certain criteria, including covering their own utility costs.
- On July 27, Acton proposed a “conditional moratorium” on new data centers if they don’t meet requirements, such as covering their own gas, water and electricity bills; using union labor exclusively to build and maintain structures; building in former industrial areas known as brownfields instead of farms or in the middle of communities; and not using non-disclosure agreements.
- Acton’s criteria would require all work be done by union workers.
TiffinOhio.net: Acton would back a data center moratorium unless 6 conditions are met. Ramaswamy says Ohio needs more of them, not fewer.
- Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dr. Amy Acton said Monday she would support a conditional moratorium on data centers in Ohio, keeping new facilities out of the state unless they cover their full utility costs, are built exclusively with union labor and go up on former industrial land instead of farmland.
- The announcement puts the Democratic nominee closer to the position taken by a string of Ohio communities — Tiffin among them — that have paused data center development while the state works out who pays for the electricity, water and infrastructure the facilities consume.
- The announcement is an escalation of a position Acton has held since spring. Her ActOn Costs Agenda, released April 6, called for guardrails rather than a bar to entry: data centers paying their own energy costs, union labor on the job, and restoration of the energy efficiency and renewable standards gutted by House Bill 6. Monday’s statement keeps those demands and attaches a consequence for companies that will not meet them.
- Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy has made data center growth central to his campaign and has rejected the idea of a ban. At a town hall in Strongsville this month, he framed the choice as one between two failures of leadership…Acton would hold projects out of the state until conditions are met. Ramaswamy would sort good projects from bad ones and keep building.
Cleveland.com: Ohio governor candidate Amy Acton calls for sweeping restrictions on new data centers
- Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton announced Monday that, if elected, she would push to block new data centers in Ohio unless they are built on vacant industrial land, don’t use local non-disclosure agreements, and are built entirely with union labor, among other things.
- Acton’s proposal, which takes a harder line against new data centers than Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy’s platform, comes as growing public concern about the proliferation of data centers around the state has made them a major issue in this year’s campaign.
Signal Ohio: Amy Acton would put conditions on new Ohio data centers – but not the size of their tax breaks
- Democratic governor candidate Amy Acton has a new plan for dealing with data centers in Ohio – and it involves making them clear a set of state regulatory hurdles before they are approved.
- During a March 2025 appearance before the Jefferson County Republican Party, [Vivek Ramaswamy] described Ohio’s data center boom as a “good thing.” The main issue associated with it, he said, was making sure their immense electricity demand didn’t overwhelm the state’s electricity grid. This could be done, he said, by making it faster and easier for companies to build power plants and natural gas pipelines – and data centers too.
Cleveland.com’s Today in Ohio Podcast: Amy Acton throws down the gauntlet on Ohio’s data center boom
- “Now Vivek Ramaswamy, he says he spent a year taking tough questions from people on the issue while Acton was in hiding. And he claims that Acton finally spoke up to parrot his ideas that he has shared for months and then pretend that it’s new. And I would like to say that I have never heard Vivek say one word about data centers.”
- “[Dr. Amy Acton] also said, you know, data centers need to work for Ohioans, not the other way around. And that’s really a good way of putting it.”
- “One thing I really like about this proposal is the transparency piece. The idea that local officials should be signing NDAs so they can’t tell residents what’s being negotiated in their own community. That’s just outrageous.”
Online:
@jpelzer: #OHgov candidate @AmyActonOH calls for sweeping restrictions on new data centers in Ohio, including, limiting them to industrial sites, banning NDAs with local officials, requiring 100% union labor to build them.
@DispatchAlerts: Amy Acton says new data centers must pay for utilities, use union labor
@Enquirer: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton wants to ban new data centers if they don’t meet certain criteria, including paying their utility costs.
@gongwer: Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton on Monday announced her support for a “conditional moratorium” on data centers.
@darreldrowland: Amy Acton calls for conditional moratorium on Ohio data centers, generating enthusiasm among her young backers
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