Incoming JP says he wants to ‘kick data centers out of Pulaski County’

Republican Paul Elliott, a Pulaski County justice of the peace who voted against regulations on incoming data centers in the unincorporated areas of the county, has lost his seat on the Quorum Court. His challenger — Jesse Johnson, a millennial Democrat who campaigned against the AVAIO Digital project — may have his anti-data center politics to thank. 

Johnson, 37, a Maumelle resident, educator and owner of a collision-repair shop, campaigned for more accountability on data centers. He beat Elliott with 54% of the vote in District 14, which includes Maumelle and the western parts of North Little Rock. 

The shakeup appears to be part of a national election trend. According to USA Today, at least 33 cities around the country passed ballot measures to regulate, restrict or ban data centers. Exit polls showed that data centers factored into votes for Congress, among 56% of voters. Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown, who won the U.S. Senate seat in Ohio on Tuesday, made his opposition to data centers and big tech central to his campaign.

Elliott was among four justices of the peace who voted against a data center ordinance, which went into effect on Oct. 27, after a successful vote to override County Judge Barry Hyde’s veto. Elliott also supported Hyde’s veto.

The Quorum Court battled for four months to pass the regulations, following AVAIO’s January announcement of its planned $6 billion data center outside of Wrightsville sparked backlash. The ordinance was shaped by Democrat Wendell Griffen, a retired circuit court judge who also won handily in Tuesday’s election to become the county’s next county judge, against Republican opponent Michael Rushin, who supported Hyde’s veto. 

Johnson shows how anti-data center sentiment is impacting smaller races. “The data center is one of the largest things that brought me into this race,” he said. He also thinks Elliott’s consistent “no” votes throughout the regulatory process likely cost him his seat on the Quorum Court. 

Johnson said he’s especially against the supersized data centers that are powering artificial intelligence (a category that includes the Google and AVAIO Digital projects in Pulaski County) due to their tremendous power and water draws. 

“I am personally against AI data centers. I don’t want anyone to get misconstrued,” he said. “The other data centers are perfectly fine as long as they’re not burning through our utilities. As far as my position on the data centers, I wish we could kick them out of Pulaski County.”

While artificial intelligence may be here to stay, Johnson said data centers need to be built in more appropriate places. “In Pulaski County, I don’t think it makes sense. We’re putting it dead on the Arkansas River,” he said. 

AVAIO has said its agreement with Central Arkansas Water allows it to consume up to 1 million gallons per day, although the company later said it might use a water-conserving closed-loop cooling system. Johnson also worries about the livelihoods of people living near data centers, including a local beekeeper he met at the Quorum Court meetings who shared concerns that the constant noise could disrupt her business.

Democrat Kathy Lewison, a proponent of the data center ordinance, handily beat her opponent, Republican Reed Martin, taking 64% of the vote to Martin’s 36%, in District 3, covering parts of West Little Rock. Lewisson said data centers weren’t as big of an issue for her constituents, but that she supported the ordinance over concerns about utility costs.

Not every detractor of the new rules on data centers was ousted and some who voted “yes” lost their seats. Justice of the Peace Luke McCoy, a “yes” vote, lost his seat to Democratic challenger Amber Nicole Govan in District 12, representing Sherwood. 

Meanwhile, JP Aaron K. Robinson voted against the data center ordinance and beat his Democratic challenger Richelle Brittain in District 11, representing parts of Jacksonville.

Still, the Quorum Court shakeup reflects the influence of the data center backlash on politics. Throughout efforts to shape the new rules, residents expressed their concerns  about data centers’ impacts, warning incumbents during public comment periods held at the end of Quorum Court meetings that their votes could cost them their seat. For at least some Quorum Court members, voters fulfilled that promise.