Cognetti’s TV ad targets data centers in drive to win swing Pennsylvania House seat
Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti is campaigning for a Pennsylvania House seat with a TV ad critical of AI data centers, citing concerns over tax breaks, secrecy, rising electric bills, and water impacts. Her opponent, Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan, has introduced legislation to protect local zoning decisions against corporate lawsuits from data center developers. This election highlights the growing opposition to data centers in the region and nationally.
Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, a Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District, has launched a TV ad targeting AI data centers, a key issue in the swing district. In her campaign, Cognetti criticizes data center developers for seeking tax breaks, operating under secrecy agreements, contributing to rising electric bills in the Mid-Atlantic region, and potentially harming local water resources. She emphasizes a stance that "Big Tech needs to pay their own way," hire local, union labor, and avoid environmental damage, asserting that the community is "not for sale."
Her Republican opponent, freshman Rep. Rob Bresnahan, has also addressed the issue by introducing the "Local Control Protection Act." This proposed legislation aims to limit corporations' ability to sue over local zoning decisions that deny data center applications. Bresnahan stated that "billion-dollar corporations" should not supersede community voices, though his bill has yet to advance out of committee.
The political focus on data centers in this race reflects a broader national trend of community opposition to these projects, which has increasingly influenced local and higher-level elections. Communities in Northeast Pennsylvania, where data center complexes and new high-voltage transmission lines are planned, have seen legal disputes arise from these development fights.