Temple residents working to recall officials over proposed data center

Temple, TX residents are mobilizing to recall several city officials, including the mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, and Councilman Mike Pilkington, after the City Council approved a new data center. The recall effort is set to officially begin on Monday, driven by a group called Stop Temple Data Centers. During a contentious city council meeting, representatives for the Rowan Data Center faced hours of questioning from residents who expressed concerns about the approval process lacking transparency and potential damage to local infrastructure. Despite these objections, discussion was cut short shortly before midnight, and the City Council voted to approve the annexation and rezoning of the data center site. One of the leaders against the data center posted on social media that city leaders ignored community input and pushed through their own agendas. The Stop Temple Data Centers group is currently organizing training and volunteer hours to collect the necessary signatures for the recall.