Gary Click voted to make it harder for Ohioans to fight unwanted development

State Representative Gary Click (R-Vickery) has drawn criticism for legislative actions that appear to weaken community power to oppose new developments, including data centers, across Ohio. Click voted for House Bill 96, the state's $200 billion biennial operating budget, which was signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine on June 30, 2025. This budget more than doubled the required signatures for Ohio residents to force a public vote on local zoning decisions, increasing the threshold from 15% to 35% for townships and from 10% to 35% for municipalities. The Ohio Township Association opposed this provision, which also exempted "megaprojects" (700+ jobs, $700M+ investment) from any referendum process entirely. Four months after the zoning changes took effect, in January 2026, Click co-sponsored House Bill 646 with Representative Kellie Deeter (R-Norwalk). This bill proposes creating a Data Center Study Commission within the Ohio Department of Development. While the commission is tasked with studying legitimate concerns such as environmental impact, electricity grid effects, and water usage, it also controversially includes examining "reports of foreign propaganda intended to create opposition to data centers." The Reason Foundation, a libertarian policy organization, recommended deleting this provision, warning it could undermine public trust by framing community opposition as a national security threat. HB 646 passed the Ohio House unanimously in March 2026 and is now pending in the Ohio Senate. The issue is locally relevant in Click's 88th district, where residents in Woodville Township (Sandusky County) have discussed a potential data center project, and Aligned Data Centers broke ground on a hyperscale project in nearby Perkins Township (Erie County). Critics argue Click's actions contradict his stated response to constituent concerns about data centers by simultaneously making opposition harder and potentially delegitimizing it.