Data center opponents gather together to reaffirm fight

Data center opponents in Imperial County, California, recently held a town hall meeting in El Centro to strategize and reaffirm their resistance following the Board of Supervisors' approval of a lot merger for a proposed data center site in Imperial. During the event, attendees were urged to sign recall petitions targeting District 3 Supervisor Peggy Price and District 4 Supervisor Ryan Kelley, whom opponents labeled "data center enablers." The group also promoted a ballot measure petition for a "Data Center Prohibition Act" aiming to ban large-scale data centers in unincorporated Imperial County, with the goal of placing it on the November 2026 ballot. Community members, including town hall organizer Michelle Hollinger and Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Director Karin Eugenio, voiced significant concerns about the project's long-term environmental impact, specifically regarding water and energy consumption. Lorena Minor-Montes, a candidate for District 5 supervisor, emphasized the community's desire for responsible economic development, highlighting too many unanswered questions about the data center's impact. Imperial City Manager Dennis Morita provided an update on the city's ongoing litigation, revealing a May 15 deadline for filing an amended petition and noting that the developer has filed a federal lawsuit against the city and its officials, for which a motion to dismiss is currently pending.