Yakima congressional candidates debate local oversight of data centers
Fourth Congressional District candidates Amanda McKinney and John Duresky said data centers can bring jobs and investment but should be subject to local input and safeguards. The Yakima County Commission, including McKinney, approved a six-month moratorium to study the facilities’ potential impacts and consider new regulations.
Fourth Congressional District candidates Amanda McKinney and John Duresky offered differing perspectives on data center expansion in Central Washington. Both acknowledged the economic benefits of facilities such as Microsoft’s Quincy campus, but said communities should have a meaningful role in siting decisions and should examine potential effects on water supplies, electricity demand, environmental conditions and energy rates.
McKinney, a Yakima Republican and Yakima County commissioner, supported the county’s six-month data center moratorium and said development should provide community benefits without causing harm. She also proposed the Hanford Site as a potential location for small modular nuclear reactors to supply power. Duresky, a West Richland Democrat and former Air Force major who has run a data center, said the facilities are necessary but urged caution about their water and power consumption and called for greater government transparency and stronger safeguards around artificial intelligence.