An Indiana mayor is under fire for insinuating that people who oppose data centers being built in their area live in “shitty houses.”
Shelbyville Mayor Scott Furgeson was caught on camera making several statements that have upset locals, Fox 59 reported Wednesday.
Furgeson was holding a hand-written anti-data center sign while speaking to several women when he said, “I’ve seen a lot of these all over town, but I only see them in shitty houses.”
A woman told him, “You see them in working class houses,” to which he replied, “Most of them are rentals.”
One local who spoke to CBS 4 about the mayor’s comments said, “I think it was very detrimental and very inappropriate and disrespectful language to be used. To single anybody out and say that they are not worthy to be represented or that they are not worthy to be heard. Everybody’s worthy to be heard on this.”
According to a 2023 post from the Indiana Republican Party, Furgeson was the Republican nominee for mayor of Shelbyville at that time.
The town is facing a proposed billion-dollar data center site and neighbors have shown fierce opposition to the project, according to the Fox article.
“The proposal seeks to turn 429 acres of farmland into an 11-building data center complex. More than 2,000 people signed a petition to halt the project, yet the city council pressed on anyway and advanced the plan in April, ignoring the jeers and shouts of an angry public in attendance,” the outlet said, noting citizens are concerned about the high cost of energy and resources the centers bring.
Furgeson said he regretted that his comments may have caused offense and claimed he was not talking about the “character, value or importance of any resident, homeowner or renter in our community” but was referencing “property maintenance.”
The number of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers has been increasing across the United States, straining power grids and distorting the quality of electricity flowing into homes in those areas, a Bloomberg analysis found in 2024.
In March, leaders with companies including Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI, OpenAI, and Amazon signed a non-binding ratepayer protection pledge at the White House committing to fund the electricity infrastructure needed for their data centers, Breitbart News reported at the time.
In response to the pledge, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum later told the outlet, “When you bring in AI, the rates go up because they use so much power,” adding, “If you’re one of the hyperscalers, and if you want to build out a data center, then you have to, like, you know, say BYOP. You’ve got to bring your own power.”
It is important to note that recent polling showed a strong majority of Americans opposed AI data centers in their areas.
WATCH — BYOP! Burgum Says Data Centers Must “Bring Your Own Power” to Help Communities: