New York Congressional Candidates Clash Over Data Center Development
The article examines a political fight between Rep. Mike Lawler and Democratic challenger Cait Conley over data center development in New York's Hudson Valley. Conley supports Gov. Kathy Hochul's one-year moratorium and opposes a Databank expansion in Rockland County, while Lawler has criticized the moratorium but supports legislation requiring data centers to cover infrastructure costs.
Rep. Mike Lawler is using data center development as a campaign issue against Democratic challenger Cait Conley in the New York congressional district that includes Philipstown. Lawler's advertising portrays Conley as favoring new data centers based on her consulting work and comments, while omitting her support for Gov. Kathy Hochul's one-year pause on new large data center construction and her calls for stronger regulation.
Conley has also opposed the expansion of a Databank-operated data center in Rockland County, where residents have raised concerns about higher electricity bills and possible water contamination. Databank says the facility will use a closed-loop water system. Lawler has avoided taking a position on the local project but is cosponsoring the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would require data centers to pay for infrastructure upgrades associated with their energy demand; the bill passed the U.S. House with near-unanimous support.