Data center backlash and a mayor in hot water

Good morning and welcome to the Georgia gang on this Sunday, September six. The backlash against data centers continues across Georgia as several families sue meta accusing its Newton County data center of tainting their well water. Also Republican Rick Jackson and Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms roll out dueling pitches in the governor's race and Stockbridge is 23 year old mayor is facing removal from office amid a growing list of controversies on Ray Theron and Brian are all here and Ryan Mahoney is filling in for Phil Kent. I want to tell our viewers that Phil Kent will be returning to the show soon. In the meantime, the debate and discussion begin right now from the Fox five studios. The Georgia gang starts now. Four Newton County families are suing meta claiming construction of its data center tainted their well water, turning it murky brown and forcing them to haul in water daily. The lawsuit also blames the facility for dust storms and nighttime light pollution. Meta calls the lawsuit faceless, saying its own study shows that the groundwater flows away from the plaintiff's properties. I'm ready to you first this week. Georgia has handed out billions of dollars in tax breaks to land these data centers. Is this the trade off that residents signed up for? So what we are saying here is a genuine concern about how data centers that may be that are existing are operating and then also, quite frankly, how we can act certain rules when it comes to how they should be conducting themselves. Quite frankly, what we see from community members is a general concern about whether or not these data centers are going to be good citizens in their neighborhoods. I think a lot of folks aren't necessarily opposed to data centers being present, but quite frankly, are wondering how they enter communities. And that's why I think Keisha Lance Bottoms plan to perhaps cause a request. A pause are more moratorium when it comes to data center makes sense. Here's why it provides us an opportunity to say those ones that already vertical make sure that we are, you know, having have the the rules in place associated with regulations and things like that. The other question I think for most data centers are, uh, are they making the necessary investment for the long term when it comes to national security? Uh, there's no other person outside of the governor of Georgia that can take that role or take that position to marshal the resources when it comes to multi county projects like data centers to address concerns. All right, well, Brian Metta says that its own studies, as you heard, shows that the groundwater flows away from those families properties. Yeah, well, it's important to note that a lawsuit isn't a verdict, right? And so this is a long debate that is going to be happening for months and months and years to come. Uh, and it's it's kind of a sad moment. I think for the pro data center movement, they were getting a lot of good traction. Um, the governor had come out and support the president to come out and support. There's a great story out of Columbia County about property taxes almost disappearing because of their data centers. And now the pro data center folks are back on their heels trying to explain. No, this is not going to impact the environment, so forth and so on. So it's a big setback. Now they're on the defensive and they're gonna have to get the momentum to get back to the economic benefits of them. Farron. Um, I mean, Newton County was a county that many of us who are actually looking at places where you can go that were sort of pro data center. This is one of those counties, particularly the Covington area. And there was some commissioners who did push back. And so you had a sort of a consortium of people coming together to say, Okay, let's communicate. Let's make sure it's put in the right place. And so you hadn't really heard a lot of complaints until now. And with this lawsuit, there's always been this concern about how much utility costs will go up. Possibly with Georgia power put it into that. They said, Listen, with these data centers, when they come in these large loads customers, they will pay more up front. And then there's always been concerns from a lot of land owners and homeowners about water. And this is sort of the thing that's in that debate really is I close. Um, you look at a poll that was done by the A. J. C. Um, back in late April, it shows that 45% of the Republican sorry, 55% of the Republicans who were polls are anti data centers and 75% of Democrats. And so I think everyone who's currently elected on the ballot who's running, you've got to really look at this issue very closely. This is a tough political fight to Brian. Well, if you ask somebody Nepal, would you want a data center right next to you? People are gonna say no to being anything being right next to them short of a swimming pool or a green space park. They're against everything, right? If you ask them, would you like a data center to be somewhere in your your county that you'll never see and your property taxes will go down and your energy prices will go down because these air coming in and taking over those calls for you, you're gonna get a different answer. And that's not the question that people are being posed. And that's not how they're thinking about it. But in due time, they will. I do think there is a bit of a backlash to the backlash happening. I'm hearing that from people in business communities around the state that there's all of this anti data center rhetoric. And now people are stepping into the breach going, Okay, let's look at the facts one by one. This doesn't impact your your local water. There is huge energy demand, but building it is not gonna be passed on to you. The cost is not gonna passed on to consumers. In fact, you're gonna pay less over time. We're gonna get that communications out there. One thing that I have a problem with when it comes to the pause is it takes away local control. I believe that the local should be able to say no to data centers if they don't want to have them. But if you want one, there should be a process. There's nobody on the state level telling you that you can't. And so that's I believe in local control, whether it's pro or against in Effingham, they're having a big fight about it and right now, but that's all on the local level. Nobody on the state telling them what they have to do. Well, let's talk about Effingham County because commissioners held their first public public meeting right on this $20 billion open AI data center project. And according to Georgia public broadcasting, nearly 100 residents showed up and they were really frustrated. Many were angry that they didn't learn the details until July, even though talks began back in October and a U. G. A. Water specialist estimates that the project could need at least 57 million gallons of water a day. One commissioner actually apologized for the delay and floated a moratorium on future data centers. But Brian, isn't that too little too late? I mean, this is after the fact. I mean, you're saying local input. They need it before, but this was decided after the fact. I think the way this is gonna end up going and at least in the short term, this is a transition period. People don't understand what these things are. They have questions about the environmental impact. Obviously, that family in Covington, they have been affected, you know, in a detrimental way. We don't know if it's because of the data center or not, but I do think it's worthy of study because I think it's important to the future of this industry that people know what happens when these come in somewhere close to you. I do think in Covington, they should just buy those people out and, you know, at a really inflated price and let them go on with their lives. But in Effingham County, what happened there is they are now eliminating homestead property taxes, rolling back school taxes. Those homeowners and residents, they're gonna benefit greatly from this. What we're seeing is something normal with economic development. These companies coming in can't come in and tell you everything because they have corporate brands. They have shareholders to protect. What's gonna happen if you just make it all transparent from the beginning is no one's gonna come to your county ever. It is a death knell for economic development. And look, there's a careful balance that must be struck here. We need economic development, but people have a right to say what goes in their community. But these people are locally elected. Let me kind of respond to the pause thing for a second. What Brian just did is actually why we need the pause. What he just said in this Effingham Commissioner and now what's happening in with Covington is that there's just too much uncertainty out there right now. And what the pause is, is that it's saying, let's get everyone in the room. I know everyone in this panel believe in collaboration and talking it through. Let's get the business community. Let's get the elected officials. Let's get the companies who want to bring these data centers here. Let's get all of the environmental specialists, all the people in the room. And let's talk about how we move forward together on new data centers. No one is saying the pause is basically going to stop. If you're here already building, build it. Let's be more transparent. Let's make sure you're actually talking to folks. But you cannot sit up here and just say with a straight face that there is not problems going for. And that is where I think Keisha Lance Bottoms is right where most voters are. And it's actually the epitome of a local control because what she's saying on the state level that if I become governor, I'm going to give these local government officials an opportunity to collaborate more with these data centers. Now, Effingham County really quickly, Laurie Senator Warnock went down there and toured the county first. All right. He heard from the residents. We applauded a open a I on this show because we thought they got it right. We thought that there was all of this collaboration. What's coming out now is that the residents want more visibility. They want to know more. And so now what the senator said is that, look, I'm pushing a moratorium, but there are like five or six things on his website said, If you can do these things, then I will not push the moratorium. That to me is leadership that the people of Georgia wanting right now. Ryan, you hail from Augusta. It sounds like they they did it right in Augusta. That's right. Had collaboration, and maybe they're an example of how you want a big data center come to, you know, also, and I think to Brian's point, there is a transparency that's important on all projects, but there also is the behind the scenes and the NDAs to get these projects here. What Columbia County did so well, and I applaud Doug Duncan, the chairman and Scott Johnson, the administrator, is the moment they could announce it. They did, and they led with the facts. They told people what the impact was gonna be on their property taxes and also the impact that it would not have on the local environment. And I think that's important. Really important point, at least in the short term, is that we have the discussion about what are the long term implications for these data centers? Because what you're hearing from community members is that, yes, there was transparency after the economic development. But after it's here and it's vertical, how do I live with this? And quite frankly, what rules are in place that the day that these data centers shut off, the day that these data centers go offline, are we ensuring that communities have some type of recourse and that there's a trust in between the business and the private sector and the public? Quite frankly, what we're seeing is this is being treated as normal economic development and data centers are anything but. The size, the scope, the scale. We have trouble retrofitting malls, let alone a massive data center that is taking up acres and acres of land and sucking in a lot of power. So the question for Georgia's leaders are what are we doing to ensure that after these things are in place, that communities of boundaries are respected? All right, we'll leave it there. Coming up, Georgia's two candidates for governor hit the trail this week with competing pitches to voters. We'll discuss after the break, have a question or comment for the Georgia gang. Email them at Georgia gang at Fox tv dot com. Georgia's candidates for governor hit the trail this week with dueling pocketbook and public safety pitches in this Lawrenceville grocery store. Keisha Lance Bottoms revealed one of her plans to address the affordability issue we are proposing is very simple. It makes common sense. It allows local governments the opportunity to suspend or even eliminate their grocery sales tax. She says this plan gives the power to local cities and governments just to put it in the context. Think about the way that the gas taxes sometimes suspended in this state. Think about the sales tax holidays. We are now offering that as a solution to our local municipalities in Atlanta. Republican candidate Rick Jackson held his own news conference about human trafficking across from the state capitol. He says it's an issue he knows personally through his own story and work with foster kids. I know how predators target Children who are lonely, missing are desperate for shelter, affection and belonging. He also addressed online safety for teens. First, we will establish a statewide human trafficking strike force. Second, we will aggressively target illicit massage businesses and other props used to facilitate commercial trafficking. All right, brian, two very different pitches here. Pocketbook versus public safety. Which one do you think moves the needle more for voters right now? And we need to disclose that you work for the Rick Jackson campaign. Well, I would start by saying Rick Jackson was first out the gate with a plan to increase affordability for Georgians with state policies, including when we see these gas price spikes taking away the state portion of the tax immediately. And that's something that's got an immediate and significant impact to consumers because it's that's a good bit of the price of every gallon of gas. The grocery store, uh, sales tax exemption there. You're talking about pennies really for the average grocery bill. This is not gonna, you're not gonna be like, oh, I can, I can go to the movies tonight, have a dinner out. It's just a few cents. And when it comes to crime, I think it's gonna be a really important message and a really important contrast in this debate during the campaign. Human trafficking is something that Rick Jackson is particularly honed in on. And think about it. He comes from the foster care system. He's been very involved in helping those kids. They are often those vulnerable kids who were targeted for this sort of sick crime. And Chris Carr has been a tremendous leader. Having started the Human Trafficking Task Force has got a 100% conviction rate. And what you're seeing here is Rick Jackson saying when I'm governor, the priority on this issue will continue fair and over to you disclosing that you work for the Keisha Lance Bottoms campaign. Well, the thing that I want to make sure that I echo the mayor said is that this is a common sense solution to a very, very high priority issue that's going on not only in our state right now, but in our country, you know, to to make the comment that these are just pennies. I mean, I think you tell that to these working families are here in Georgia right now who literally are having to make choices between what type of food and how much food they can put on the table. We know that we've seen this negative impact from the trump agenda that actually has increased inflation at times. Yes, it's lower, but we hear all around the state of Georgia. Two things. One, people do talk about data centers, but people talk about the cost of groceries. And so to be in a local grocery store in Gwinnett County in Lawrenceville, flanked by real people, not manufactured support of folks that you just want to come out there because you're giving them something. These were elected officials. These were grocery store owners who literally said, We support you, Mayor Bottoms and doing something additionally about trying to put hard working putting dollars back into hard working Georgians pockets. The other thing about this is that to really pit it as a public safety versus grocery store. The key is, is that the bottoms campaign can do both. And at a time where we're talking about how issues are important to Georgia voters being in that grocery store, hearing those stories from those folks and saying, Hey, let's work with local governments, local control being front and center coming to them as a leader. As in the state to say, Look, we want to work with you. Let's look at innovative ways that we can collaborate to reduce costs. That is the winning message, not only for Keisha Lance Bottoms, but I think all the Democrats on the ticket are going to be able to show that contrast between what they're doing versus what the Republicans are doing, right? Yeah. Well, I mean, I'll take off the partisan hat, and I'm just excited that both of these candidates are focused on the issues that actually matter to Georgia voters. I mean, for far too long, we've been on the fringes. And so affordability, public safety, that's one and two. You know, to channel my hometown hero, James Carville, it's the economy, stupid. And so we need to have solutions to make it easier for folks to put groceries on the table and to keep their kids safe. And so I'm glad that's happening. It's interesting, though, to partisan hat back on Keisha Lance Bottoms. Her proposal sounds very Republican, you know, and we're trying to win. And you told you've heard me. I'm glad you said that, because unlike Rick Jackson, it's a real outreach to the Republican Party, but it's the collaboration. And let me say this to you, Ron. I'm glad you brought that up. We have more Republicans reach out to us to say we actually think that's a good idea. And you saw mayors and county commissioners standing there with the mayor because they want that type of leadership. That's right. The thing about it is we just saw the Democrats this summer vote 16 times against property tax relief, arguing that that's a decision for the locals to make. That is that is on them, not for the state to do. Keisha Lance Bottoms comes in and basically just told the House Democratic and Senate Democratic Caucus. Y'all are wrong. This needs to be state mandates from the top. That's not correct. That's right. We had those Democrats anywhere. That's not correct. Here's the top line of the proposal that was presented this summer. It would have allowed for property taxes to be decreased at the expense of working families by increasing a cell tax. And what Democrats say and believe is that is a regressive tax. That means that it is making working families pay more to subsidize those who literally have a larger lot in life and that physical lot being their property. Now, that's not to say property tax property owners don't deserve tax relief. That is to say, we shouldn't trade one for the other. And what Keisha Lance Bottoms is presenting in this policy is the idea that local jurisdictions should be able to subsidize and have ships to be able to subsidize these families in the state should be able to step in and offset these expenses. Compare that to the idea that every working family should pay more to offset property taxes. And we think as progressives that there should be more creative ideas about corporations perhaps paying a little bit more to offset some of these expenses and doing the arithmetic that says that that's not good math for working families. Well, Bottoms and Jackson cannot agree on how many times that they'll debate. She challenged him to three back in June. He offered one, which she accepted, then demanded. Then she demanded five more. So, Brian, where are we on this? Well, reaction was first out of the gate as soon as the runoff was over saying, I want to have a debate. I want to have one that is a town hall format so that it's not a media driven dialogue is what actual Georgians are talking about. It's the questions that are concerning them on the kitchen table issues. And that's what this debate is going to be. It's going to be a great forum for Georgians to look at the two candidates, hear them interacting with real Georgia voters. And it took Keisha Lance Bottoms almost too much to agree to it. So Rick Jackson has been waiting for a long time. We get here to the homestretch. All of a sudden they want six. This thing's a bit manufactured. Rick Jackson is out there every day. On Friday, he was in Perry. The day before he was in Tipton. The day before that, he was in Sandersville taking questions from voters. Anybody can show up at these events. You can ask a question. You can get in the photo line and ask him something personal. He is taking questions all the time, and that is the most important part of this campaign. And look, I encourage everyone to get a look at Rick Jackson's heart when take a look at the foster care ad and the kids he put through college. If you don't cheer up when you watch it, you have a stone heart there. Yeah. So let's again start with the facts. Keisha Lance Bottoms challenged Rick Jackson soon after he actually defeated Bert Jones in a runoff. She said, Let's go to the debates. The reason it was only three Lori at the time is because those were the only stations that have actually said they wanted to debate. Rick Jackson came back and said, You know what? I will only do one debate. All right. So again, let's make sure we said she came out right away. Not Rick Jackson. Say this debate. Now we've gone on. We said, Look, why don't we just do all six debates? Five debates local. There was one with CNN. Let's do them all. Keisha Lance Bottoms said, I'm not running. I'll meet you anywhere. Anytime we can talk about it, they came back and said, No, we're only gonna do that one debate that we committed to. And so what this shows you is that I think it's very disingenuous and very disrespectful to the people of Georgia, where you cannot go in front of a television screen and without all the teleprompters and everything and defend your record or to talk about what your proposals are gonna be for the state of Georgia. Unlike Ray Johnson, Keisha Lance Bottoms is saying, Hey, you have spent millions and millions of dollars on television as hiding behind those ads. Let's have a conversation in a very civil way. And so I actually think that him not just 70s debates I want the public to know is that we're still going to continue to talk to the people of Georgia. He's in Perry, which was event that he had to reschedule because he canceled it because he was not feeling well. But we're all over the place. Macon, Columbus, Ringle, Rock Mart, Woodbine, Savannah. These are all the places that we're going all around the state of Georgia and to make sure that the people hear the message. All right, I gotta leave it there, folks. Coming up, a 23 year old mayor's future is now in the hands of a divided city council after a judge kicks one member off the case will explain next. Join the discussion on the Georgia Gang Facebook page and watch past episodes on the Georgia Gang YouTube channel. Stockbridge Mayor Jaden Williams, just 23, is fighting to keep his job amid allegations of inappropriate sexual communications with an 18 year old through a city mentoring program, plus misuse of city funds in a city vehicle. This week, a retired judge disqualified Councilwoman Lakeisha Gant from the panel, deciding his fate, ruling she'd shown bias. The remaining four council members decide his future at the expected September 12th hearing Andre, a young mayor, serious allegations and now a fight over who even gets to judge him. What do you make of this? So quite frankly, this is a big tragedy for the city of Stockbridge because this discussion obscures all the important things that are going on in that city and in that area. And quite frankly, this young man was elected with all the promise and hopefulness that we want with younger people getting involved in politics. And so this particular scandal clouds that discussion. So my hope is, and I think the general discussion should be is what's the way forward to ensure that the citizens of Stockbridge have confidence in their leadership in their local electeds? Quite frankly, when you see the development of Stockbridge in that area, folks are expecting their leaders to be focused on economic development, public safety, their well being. And so this discussion has completely distracted from that. And I trust that the arbiters and the attorneys that are involved in this will kind of feather out truth fact from fiction and kind of get to the bottom of things. But my biggest hope is for the citizens of Stockbridge that they can leave the discussion with more confidence about their leadership. Brian, this is messy, super messy. And that's why this has to be above reproach. And the judge's decision to make the councilwoman recuse herself is so important because whatever the decision may be, I'm confident the mayor will appeal this. And so they're going to go back and they're going to assess all the emails and the text messages and make sure that there was an unbiased decision that was made. And so I think that's a good step forward. But to honoree's point, this is just a lot of drama and it's really getting in the way of good governance in Stockbridge. Farron. Um, I agree with everything that honoree said. I mean, I think that this could let people know Henry County and Stockbridge is one of the fastest growing areas, not only state of Georgia in the country. And I know Mayor Williams personally had him on my podcast and this is just very disturbing news. But I saw him recently. I think he's going to do everything he can to fight. I agree with you on Brian. I know there's not a huge age difference between a 23 year old and an 18 year old. I get that. But if if it's true, we don't know. There's just an allegation. But if there were essentially explicit photos sent to an 18 year old who the mayor met through a mentorship program for the city, that is something that requires removal from office and to give a clean slate to the people of Stockbridge. I am not saying he is guilty, but if the evidence is there, I think that threshold is one that is you crossed over into impropriety and you must go coming up winners and losers. Stay tuned. Time now for the week's winners and losers real quickly. Tuesday is September 8th, also known as 98, which also means it's 988 day. I work continuing to spread the word about the 988 crisis lifeline. Several recent high profile mental health tragedies have folded across Georgia and the U. S. A reminder to you to your family members and friends that help is available by calling, texting or chatting 988 on rate to you. Winners of this week will have to be my hometown, Liberty County and my home church, Malzahn Missionary Baptist Church and all the folks that have been watching and showing support. I love and appreciate all of you guys. I want to send a shout out and the loser of this week is whoever planned the Bulldogs. Go Dawgs. All right, Ryan, the winner of the week East Lake Golf Club hosted their last for the foreseeable future tour championship. It's been a huge impact in Atlanta and beyond. It's also highlighted once again the impact of Tom Cousins, his vision of that golf course and the community. The loser of the week is my pocketbook. Starbucks is back with their pumpkin spice latte, and that means I will be spending tons of money buying those for my wife, kids and obviously myself. I agree with Ryan Tour championship definitely is a winner. Shout out to all the folks over there. Criswell Max from Southern Company, all the great work that they do along with a censure, um, and others as well. Also want to give a longtime Georgia gang fan Anita Leonard and her new husband, John Leonard, who just got married this weekend. So congratulations to you guys. And thank you so much for your support for the show. And also I want to wish my brother a happy birthday. So as we're taping today, it's his birthday. And Mama, I'm gonna go ahead and wish you a happy birthday because I think I may be out next week. I got some travel. So happy birthday to my brother, Richard and happy birthday to sugar. Happy birthday to all of them. And we love hearing from our viewers, Brian. And I promise Terry Millow. It's her aunt Anita, who's turning 80 and getting married. I would second your your winner there. 80 and getting married. Yes, I love it. I don't want to say the age. So my my winner is my my neighbor, John Garst. He was a pollster, and he's just been hired by Rasmussen to do a lot of national polling. Great honor for him. Of course, he's done a lot of work for our colleague Phil Kent at Insider Advantage, and it was his polling that we were talking about here just a few weeks ago through Insider Advantage. And happy birthday to one of my favorite elected officials, Speaker John Burns. All right, we'll leave it there, folks. Make it a great week. We'll see you next time. Bye bye.