Box Elder County commissioners who voted for data center project trailing in primary voting
Two Box Elder County commissioners, Lee Perry and Boyd Bingham, are trailing in their primary election bids after voting in favor of a controversial data center project. The project, a collaboration between O'Leary Digital and Utah's Military Installation Development Authority, faced significant public opposition over environmental concerns and its proposed 9-gigawatt power capacity.
Two incumbent Box Elder County commissioners, Lee Perry and Boyd Bingham, are reportedly trailing their challengers in the Republican primary, according to unofficial and incomplete returns. The commissioners' re-election bids appear to be significantly impacted by their votes in favor of a contentious data center development in the county.
Commissioner Perry is behind Nathan Tueller with a 53.3%-46.7% split, while Commissioner Bingham trails Vance Smith 52%-48%. Approximately 1,000 ballots remained uncounted after Tuesday night's tally. The third commissioner, Tyler Vincent, also voted for the project but is not up for re-election this cycle.
Both Perry and Bingham defended their votes for the "Stratos Area Project" data center, which is a joint proposal by O'Leary Digital and Utah's Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA). On May 4, the commissioners approved two resolutions allowing the project to proceed, despite vocal public opposition. Residents raised concerns about the data center's potential environmental impact and its plan to develop up to 9 gigawatts of power-producing capacity in the Hansel Valley area.