Data centers are moving into Ohio’s communities in secrecy, raising costs and undermining our core values. This is unacceptable; Ohio cannot trust Vivek Ramaswamy to protect communities from his fellow big-tech billionaires.
I support a conditional moratorium on data centers to ensure they cover one hundred percent of their utility costs, exclusively build with union labor, operate with full transparency, support the needs of local communities, live by Ohio’s environmental standards, and bring jobs to former industrial areas that have been left behind.
Ohio is open for business, but we are not up for sale. My message as governor will be if you do not meet these conditions, we do not want you in Ohio.
As governor, I will support:
- Robust state guardrails: As governor, I will add strong state guardrails that protect residents, workers and local communities from paying the price for new developments.
- All Costs Must Be Covered by Data Centers and Their Investors: All costs for gas, water and electricity needs to be covered by data centers and their investors, not Ohio taxpayers or our communities. Data centers must invest in their own energy generation options and prove the project will not increase our electricity prices or negatively impact regional reliability. The goal is to help lower regional costs and strengthen Ohio’s infrastructure and energy grid. We will prioritize low cost, carbon-free and net-zero energy options, accompanied by storage options.
- Good-Paying, Union Jobs: Any data center development must be exclusively built with union labor. The jobs to build, maintain, operate and upgrade data centers must be good-paying, union jobs operated by Ohioans who are trained in Ohio.
- Rein in Incentives: Ohio’s out-of-control long-term tax incentives must be reined in. I will fight for much-needed transparency and add clawback provisions to protect Ohio taxpayers.
- Transparency: Ohioans must know who is coming into our communities; transparency and accountability is not negotiable. Gov. Acton will end the secrecy and data center NDAs in Ohio as governor. Our communities need to know who they are working with. This secrecy has allowed for one-sided negotiations that undermine community interests and prevent residents from understanding the long-term impacts and risks of these projects. My priority is to protect residents, workers and local interest in all developments to ensure that our communities are benefitting.
- Data Centers Must Be Built on Brownfields or Industrial Areas Where Jobs Have Been Lost: New data centers coming to Ohio must be built on brownfields and previously developed industrial sites, not farms or in the hearts of our communities. They must be built where countless jobs have been directly lost for generations, including the thousands of vacant brownfield sites and areas in Ohio that are already zoned for industrial use. Data centers can’t disrupt our farmlands, rural communities, or our way of life in Ohio.
- Maintaining Environmental Standards: Ohio won’t loosen our air quality and groundwater standards for data centers. Ohioans deserve clean air and water. Data centers must maintain zero environmental impact and use responsible and modern water-management systems that protect local waterways, groundwater, and air and meet rigorous environmental and quality of life standards.