Voters oust 4 council members who approved $6B data center: 'This is exactly how it should be done'

The Festus, Missouri, city council recently approved a plan to build a data center by a vote of six to two. Residents responded by making their voices heard at the polls, and all four incumbents faced defeat amid community discontent.

According to Fox 2 News, election officials reported that voter turnout in Festus was higher than in other areas of Jefferson County. The contentious data center plan was reportedly a key factor motivating some voters — three of the four incumbents voted yes in March despite heavy community opposition.

One of the ousted incumbents, Brian Wehner, was one of the two votes against the most recent ordinance about the data center, but according to KCUR, he had voted to approve several prior plans pertaining to the center that had passed unanimously. 

Gabe Cotton, a voter against the data center plan, told FOX 2, "I think when the people in leadership are not listening, it shows that democracy is a solution to them ignoring their constituents."

Election results for Missouri's April 7 Municipal Election still await certification to become official.

These election results indicate an issue that is recently gaining momentum. As concerns about the resources these data centers require to operate and the disruptions they cause to communities in which they are built grow, so does public pushback. 

It's working, too. According to a data center watch initiative, 48 data center projects, totaling over $156 billion, have encountered community opposition. 

As Festus showed, taking local action and voting out candidates who don't align with your values, and voting in those who do, can have an effect. 

Missi Hesketh for MO 7th (@MissiforMO), a Missouri congressional candidate, posted about the results on the social platform X. 

"The City of Festus, MO canceled their Council meeting for tonight following last night's election whereby citizens voted out of office every single member who voted for the data center there that the people did not want," she wrote. "Micro to macro, that is how we hold them accountable." 

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"We need to do this on a much bigger scale in Washington," one user commented.

"This is exactly how it should be done," another said. 

"Festus — an example for the rest of us," one more agreed.   

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