Douglas County Commission candidates discuss data centers, property taxes and transparency at forum

Candidates for the Douglas County Commission, including incumbents Patrick Kelly, Gene Dorsey, and Erica Anderson, and challengers Milton Scott, Ethan Spurling, and Kirsten Kuhn, participated in a forum hosted by the Douglas County Rural Preservation Association. The discussion, driven by audience questions, focused on three main topics: property taxes, data centers, and government transparency.

On the issue of data centers, several candidates voiced strong opposition. Kirsten Kuhn stated she is not in favor of large data centers and supports regulations to ban them. Erica Anderson called for a "real" moratorium on data centers until a county policy can be developed. Milton Scott asserted the county is not the appropriate location for data centers. Patrick Kelly questioned the county's ability to support hyper-scale data centers, though he would support tight regulations. Ethan Spurling expressed support for any regulation, including a full moratorium. Gene Dorsey specifically highlighted water as the biggest issue and favored banning data centers, noting the lack of sufficient high-capacity power lines, fiber optic cable, and water in one location within the county.

Candidates also addressed rising property taxes, suggesting cuts to commissioner salaries, scrutinizing capital improvements, and improving accountability for services. Transparency in county decisions and budget processes was another key point, with candidates advocating for more public input, clearer budget reporting, and easier access to information from past meetings.