Data centers, taxes take center stage at county executive candidate forum

Candidates for Montgomery County executive, including Councilmembers Andrew Friedson, Evan Glass, and Will Jawando, discussed data centers and taxes at a live recording of WAMU's 'The Politics Hour' event. The debate over regulating data centers in the county is intensifying as Atmosphere Data Centers moves forward with plans for a 300-megawatt facility. Jawando said he would support a two-year moratorium, while Glass and Elrich have expressed support for a shorter six-month moratorium. Friedson said future data centers should provide their own clean power. On taxes, Jawando called for raising taxes on the wealthy, while Glass and Friedson were more skeptical of tax increases. Later, outgoing County Executive Marc Elrich proposed a 6% property tax hike and 0.1% income tax increase in his final budget proposal, which Friedson and Glass criticized.