오하이오 주의원과 시의원이 규제 없는 데이터센터 지역 지정에 반대하는 공개 경고를 발표하며, 전력망 부하와 지자체 역량에 대한 우려를 제기했다.

With Ohio's gubernatorial election fifty-five days away, State Rep. Tristan Rader and Ward 15 Cleveland Councilman Charles Slife stood before a substation at the IX Center on Wednesday to warn voters that their political choice will shape where and how hyperscale data centers are built statewide in 2027.

Gubernatorial candidates Amy Acton and Vivek Ramaswamy have introduced or refined their stances on data center development. Ramaswamy, a Republican, has faced criticism from progressive groups for maintaining a more permissive position on data centers than Acton. Financial disclosures from May reveal that Ramaswamy holds potentially significant investments in Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Bitcoin—holdings that prompted Rader to raise concerns about conflicting interests.

"He's making money every time one of these data centers go up in your backyard," Rader said. "To me, that's a huge concern. If he's the governor, what's he going to do? Is he going to help make himself money, or is he actually going to represent you as governor?"

Rader's worry echoes a broader pattern: since their 2024 re-election, the Trump family accumulated over $1.2 billion from cryptocurrency investments, raising concerns among House Democrats. Rader and Slife worry that Ramaswamy may seek to expand his financial interests through Ohio's data center boom, a concern shared by members of Innovation Ohio, a progressive activist group based in Columbus.

Slife focused on local regulatory solutions, proposing updates to Cleveland's zoning code to prevent workarounds in future data center proposals. Cleveland issued a temporary ban on such proposals after one failed in Slavic Village; that ban expires in mid-October. "We need to make sure that cities can catch up," Slife said. "We need to make sure our zoning codes reflect reality in 2026, not, in many cases, 1926." Cleveland already hosts several data centers operating quietly in nondescript downtown buildings.

Rader's primary concern centers on electricity. A recent report showed that BlackRock, which acquired Minnesota Power, expressed interest in purchasing Ohio utility companies—a potential conflict he views as catastrophic. Private equity simultaneously owning data centers and their power suppliers creates incentives to raise electricity rates for residents on the same grid, Rader argued, "because of data center growth in the state of Ohio."

Beyond Cleveland, the landscape differs markedly. Youngstown has two data centers, Canton one, and the Columbus area alone has hundreds planned or recently built. As of early August, both Acton and Ramaswamy pledged to regulate incoming proposals, refusing to subsidize utility costs and requiring new facilities on brownfield sites.

On August 6, Ramaswamy tightened his position with a published pledge: require centers to pay full property taxes, guarantee free electricity to nearby residents, and limit new builds to previously industrial land to "protect Ohio's fertile farmland." "If a project fails to meet any one of these three requirements," he wrote, "it will not be built. Period."

Yet financial stakes complicate both candidates' positions. As of last year, both Acton and Ramaswamy hold investments in Microsoft and Meta. Ramaswamy's portfolio is more technology-concentrated, including Dell, Apple, Prologis, Strive, and substantial holdings in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Both could realize returns if Ohio's data boom accelerates, depending on legislative action.

"This is not a political issue," Rader concluded. "This is something that I think affects rural Ohio even more so than urban Ohio. This is not something that should be partisan."