West Virginia Should Not Be Big Tech’s Bargaining Chip

West Virginia has given enough away to outside interests that promise prosperity and leave our communities with the bill. I do not believe massive data centers are the future our state should be chasing. These projects can demand enormous amounts of power, water, land, and infrastructure while creating relatively few long-term local jobs. Worse, recent legislation has moved control away from counties, cities, and the people who actually have to live beside these developments.

As your candidate for House of Delegates in District 21, I believe economic development should serve West Virginians first. That means protecting our water, keeping utility costs from being shifted onto working families, preserving local control, and refusing to hand out sweetheart deals to corporations that do not give enough back. West Virginia should invest in small businesses, local workers, farms, schools, roads, and real community growth, not become a dumping ground for high-impact projects that benefit distant companies more than our own people.