Wrightstown, Wisconsin, Voters Reject Data Center Development Amid State Political Debate
Residents in Wrightstown, Wisconsin, overwhelmingly rejected AI data centers in a recent primary ballot referendum. This local push against data center development has spurred a bipartisan political debate among state politicians regarding regulation and tax incentives for such projects. Village officials had previously denied proposals from Cloverleaf Infrastructure, leading to a year-long moratorium being extended after residents pushed for a vote.
Residents in Wrightstown, Wisconsin, delivered a decisive 'no' to AI data centers in a recent primary ballot referendum, with nearly 90% of voters opposing the projects. This local action comes after residents organized against a potential data center project by Cloverleaf Infrastructure, pushing village officials to pause development and place the issue on the ballot.
The initial push for a pause led to a June moratorium on AI data center projects, which the Village board members unanimously extended for a year in July as the nonbinding referendum approached. Emails later revealed that village officials had been communicating with Cloverleaf Infrastructure since January, despite earlier denials of having seen a project proposal.
The widespread opposition in Wrightstown has ignited a political debate at the state level. State Representative Francesca Hong, who advocated for a data center moratorium, narrowly lost her Democratic primary. Meanwhile, Republican candidate for governor Rep. Tom Tiffany and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley are engaging in a political brawl over data center policies, with both candidates supporting local community control and opposing local government nondisclosure agreements. NetChoice, an industry association, had threatened legal action over the referendum.
While both Tiffany and Crowley generally agree on key guardrails for data center development, they differ on specific approaches, with Tiffany seeking to repeal state tax incentives and Crowley calling for greater scrutiny of their benefits to taxpayers. This local and state-level engagement highlights growing public and political scrutiny of data center expansion in Wisconsin.