Latest / Taking Initiative / Spotlight: Meet Ohio’s latest ballot initiative proposal: banning mega data centers
Transcript
- Laura Lucarelli: Hi everybody, welcome to Taking Initiative. Today I am very excited to welcome two very brave women in rural Ohio who have quite a story to share with us. So first, please introduce yourselves. Danielle, let's start with you. Danielle: Hi, my name is Danielle Kinhalt I live in Manchester, Adams County, and I'm 30. ⁓ have a two and a half year old son. He'll be three in June, closer to three. Laura Lucarelli: And we have with us Emily. Emily please introduce yourself. Emily: I'm Emily Harper. I'm originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and I relocated to Adams County about 15 years ago to raise children. I have a 17-year-old and a 15 and a half year old. And I was previously a naturalist at Shawnee State Park, and now I'm a freelance naturalist and a substitute teacher. Laura Lucarelli: welcome both of you. I invited you because just a week ago, not even a week ago, ⁓ two of you, plus a couple of friends that I don't know how long you've all known each other, made a run to Columbus, stopped at the State House, looked around, and dropped off some paperwork. Why don't you talk to us about what happened? Emily: I didn't know any of these women until about a month and a half ago, as soon as the news broke about the data center ⁓ here in Adams And Dan Monk in Cincinnati ⁓ WCPO had let it out to the public. In a nutshell, we've been ⁓ going to meetings together and how I met all these other ladies. Laura Lucarelli: What is happening right now in rural Ohio that has people up in arms? ⁓ Danielle: A mega AI data center boom. They're dealing with it in Maysville, Kentucky, right across the river, Brown County, Scioto County, just all around. And so we feel that our local government, after all the that we've gone to, they're just not, they don't. They don't have any answers for us. They either don't know or the people that do know signed NDAs so they can't really tell us anything. So we decided to go above the local government and that's when we decided to amend the Ohio constitution to cap data centers at 25 megawatts, Emily: you Danielle: that's any large scale data center. Laura Lucarelli: To show up last week with a petition that was handed to the Attorney General's office, right? ⁓ And when you do that, the process says you need 1,000 signatures. How'd you guys do? Danielle: We turned in 1800. Laura Lucarelli: And how long did it take you to get those 1800 signatures? Danielle: was eight days. ⁓ Laura Lucarelli: And what does the petition ⁓ You said there's a ban ⁓ on anywhere in Ohio or in a specific area? Danielle: It would new data centers being built at 25 megawatts. Laura Lucarelli: Okay. ⁓ Danielle: So ⁓ not the data centers that are already up and running. It would just be new development of data center. Yeah. Laura Lucarelli: Not new. Talk to me about the experience of being in the State House and getting to that moment where you could drop it off. ⁓ were happy? Were you scared? What was the experience like? Emily: It was a little bit of everything. was really fun because I've never been to the state Capitol before or the Statehouse everything's very very beautiful and everyone's wearing suits. It felt like success because we'd been working so hard getting the signatures. ⁓ we were out all day. seemed like every day for a week solid. We had talked to so many people. People don't want to just come up and sign. Some do, but a lot of people like to get into conversations. So we just peopled all week long. And it felt like an accomplishment because the commissioners and trustees, because of so many NDAs throughout our local politicians and local government, it seemed like a win to kind of bypass them. Laura Lucarelli: were you collecting the signatures, by the way? Because that's a lot to get. Emily: So we networked really, really well with a lot of people. It's not just us, obviously. Danielle had friends. I had a sister that helped and Nikki knows a lot of people and Jessica and there's Sky and Chelsea and Taylor What would you say, Danielle? Danielle: After everyone and then they networked, there was, I would say probably around 20 - 25 ⁓ were Adams and Brown County got, ⁓ I think almost a thousand of valid signatures. And I believe there was like valid of the 18 that we turned in. Laura Lucarelli: so astounded how quickly you did that with really not a lot of people. Were you in grocery stores? Were you knocking on doors? Where do you think you got the most signatures? Emily: ⁓ It really helps being in the southern Ohio community, being in Appalachia, because at the beginning of the day, if you say something, by the very end of the day, the word is out and then you factor in social media. People talk, it's tight knit, and it's a community and very supportive and By the time we got the petition ready, a lot of people were fired up. And so the easiest place for us or for me personally was at a crossroad of two major routes, Route 41 and Route 136. There's an old school there. So we just set up in the parking lot. And then a couple people went to Walmart. And where did you go to, Danielle: I set up in Peebles once, ⁓ down by the river once. I went with Nikki door to door once. Emily: Nikki was door to door and she's got nailed down. She knows how to go up and knock on people's doors ⁓ fearlessly. it interesting because there was ⁓ a gentleman and his who live on the ridge top right next to this data center where it's supposed to be. And they had no idea that this was happening. So there were still a lot of people didn't know. ⁓ And then there were They would text or call or Facebook us and they're like, where can we find you? Where can we find you? Like they tried all week and they finally got to think out the country, know, those crossroads are really important. Danielle: After having so many conversations with all these people getting their signatures, I felt like I was speaking for not just myself and my friends, but for other people that I didn't even know. it really, it felt good. It did. It was, it's a little scary. Cause like she said, everybody's in suits and I'm not in a suit. So I've a little uncomfortable, empowering really. Laura Lucarelli: What is next for your campaign? Danielle: Well, right now, while we're kind of in this limbo, I personally have been working on networking and pushing social media, ⁓ that and researching and just networking, finding other groups in other counties Ohio and posting some of my stuff into those groups just to try and spread awareness. Emily: what I'm working on with other people, so it's not exclusively me, We're planning a benefit for our community and it's going to take place in Manchester and a music benefit. So we'll be having a couple of notable artists and local musicians play as well. something that our community needs. very, like I said, really tight knit community. And we need something positive to bring a lot of people together. And it's really weird because as negative as this situation has been, has entwined everybody for the most part in an amazing way that people are like, well, what do do now that there's no meetings? When's the next meeting? When are we going to hang out? Laura Lucarelli: What's next is ⁓ it clears the Attorney General, it will go to the Ohio Ballot board. And the Ohio Ballot Board first will make a determination if this fits a one-subject rule. There have been things recently that have been split because they felt it was too complicated to be in one petition. So it clears that. And then it's certified, and you're able to start collecting signatures. Here's a little pop quiz. How many counties are there in Ohio? Emily: 88. Danielle: 88. Laura Lucarelli: counties do you have to collect signatures from at minimum? 44. You're ready. 10 You will be collecting 10% of the votes cast the last time we voted for governor. So it's like 413,000 plus some. Danielle: 44? Laura Lucarelli: valid signatures so you're gonna want to go more than that. That's a lot. Are you ready to collect beyond your communities? Danielle: I have a few messages from people wanting to network and they have people that want to help them. it's really, it's spreading, I think. I think we're going to be able to do it. Emily: been actually pretty amazing. So many people have reached out ⁓ the networking that Danielle does has been ⁓ and just being on social media and having having everyone that came and signed the petition too, because then they go home and they tell a handful of family and friends and they don't live here. And then everybody's getting on the news or was getting on social media. And I I'm like, I don't know. Yes and no, I don't know. but it's like one of those things, like, can you tell on yourself? Yes. Danielle: I think that the universe has been on our side so much through all of it that it's going to happen. Laura Lucarelli: So if you could each tell me why this initiative is important, not just to you personally, but to Ohio. Danielle: it gives the power back to people. It gives us a voice and is this what we want or is this not what we want instead of us having no choice in a mega AI data center being put into our backyard. And yeah, it just gives the power back to the people. Emily: overall, I would say more people than not are upset about this. It's exactly like Danielle said is the power back into people and making you feel like your voice matters. You know, I know a lot of people that don't even vote because they say, well, my vote doesn't matter. And then you've got this amendment to the constitution that you sign your name to this petition. how many people signed that, proof that so many people want their voice to be heard. Danielle: And to be honest, never registered to vote before this. ⁓ And I didn't even what a commissioner was. I just never had been interested in local politics because I felt that way. I think there's a point that you realize that local politics affects you way more than you ever think about when you're younger. there's a lot more voices that aren't heard and I think it's getting them involved. Laura Lucarelli: Yeah, you guys are definitely giving people an opportunity to speak up. Emily: wanted to say for me, and I know Danielle is experiencing this too, and so is everybody in our community, we all lives ⁓ and we're raising kids or having families and going to work still trying to get on the table. Everybody's life has pretty much been turned upside down with this shocking thing being shoved down our throats. ⁓ I would always like, my local government's going to be the best one to have my it's disgraceful how many of our local politicians don't care. think that that's one of the most amazing things about what we're doing is it's like, okay, we'll bypass you because we matter. If you're not gonna help us, we'll go straight to the top. Laura Lucarelli: People have power need to use their So thank you ladies for your courage and perseverance ⁓ and ⁓ can't wait to see what's next.