North Dakota Democratic Candidates Criticized for Data Center Stance
North Dakota Democratic candidates, including state Senate hopeful Signe Snortland and Agriculture Commissioner candidate Vern Thompson, are campaigning against data center developments, raising concerns about environmental impact and utility usage. An opinion piece criticizes their approach as opportunistic, noting that Snortland did not invite the developer, Stark Energy, to a public meeting she organized to discuss their Mandan project, despite publicly complaining about the company's lack of engagement.
Rob Port, an opinion columnist for InForum, criticizes North Dakota's Democratic-NPL candidates, Signe Snortland and Vern Thompson, for their approach to data center opposition during the current election cycle. Port suggests their activism, while framed as public advocacy, appears opportunistic. Snortland, a state Senate candidate for District 33, organized a public meeting in Mandan to discuss a proposed data center project by Stark Energy, expressing concerns about its impact on building counts, energy usage, power plant scale, air quality from diesel generators, and property setbacks. However, Port reveals that Snortland did not formally invite Stark Energy to the meeting, despite publicly complaining about the company's lack of direct communication with the public.
Similarly, Vern Thompson, a Democratic candidate for Agriculture Commissioner, conducted a "data center tour" that turned out to be campaign rallies disguised as town halls. Thompson, who has called data centers a "pyramid scheme," admitted to not reaching out to data center companies for meetings or tours, with a later failed attempt to tour a Williston facility. Port notes that while Snortland's concerns about local impacts like noise, traffic, utility rates, and water use are reasonable, the candidates' methods lack the "good leadership" and "good faith" necessary to navigate the contentious issue.
Port concludes that the public is being misled about the true intent of these meetings, citing a handout for Snortland's event that characterized it as an effort to "stop the data center" rather than a community conversation. He argues that addressing the complexities of data center development requires genuine engagement from all sides, which he believes the Democratic candidates are currently failing to demonstrate.