Prince George’s County is at a crossroads. With AI-fueled data center development accelerating across the DMV, voters heading to the polls on June 23rd — and to early voting starting June 11th — face a critical choice: elect leaders who will stand firm on community protections, or hand power to those who won’t even answer a direct question.
The DC Liberation Center reached out to every candidate running for County Executive and County Council, asking one question: What is your position on hyperscale AI data centers in Prince George’s County? The results reveal a stark divide — and a troubling silence from some of the most high-profile names on the ballot.
A County Already in the Fight
This debate isn’t hypothetical. In September 2025, the Prince George’s County Council passed CR-98-2025 — a 180-day moratorium on permits and approvals for new data centers — introduced by Council Member Wala Blegay to give the county time to evaluate zoning, health, and environmental impacts. County Executive Aisha Braveboy subsequently extended that hold by executive order in January 2026, pushing the pause on new data center permits through April 30, 2026.
The trigger for much of the controversy was a proposal by developer Lerner Enterprises to build an 800,000-square-foot hyperscale data center at the site of the former Landover Mall — a facility that would draw 300 megawatts of electricity and consume an estimated 2.5 million gallons of water per day once operational. That’s comparable to Google’s existing data center in Ashburn, Virginia, which uses approximately 153,000 gallons of water daily.
The Energy and Environmental Stakes
The national context makes local decisions even more urgent. Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that U.S. data centers consumed 4.4% of all electricity in 2023 — up from 1.9% in 2014 — and are projected to reach between 6.7% and 12% by 2028. The International Energy Agency projects that global data center electricity consumption will grow by around 15% per year through 2030, four times faster than all other sectors combined.
At the state level, Maryland lawmakers have been wrestling with legislation that would require new data centers to co-locate with dedicated power generation facilities, ensuring they don’t drain existing grid capacity from residents and businesses. The Maryland Department of the Environment and the Maryland Energy Administration are also required under new legislation to submit a full report to the Governor and General Assembly analyzing data centers’ environmental, energy, and economic implications by September 1, 2026.
Beyond energy, residents and advocacy groups — including the NAACP and the Center for Environment, Energy, and Justice in Health (CEEJH) — have raised alarms about noise pollution, air quality, water use, and the disproportionate burden these facilities place on communities that have already faced environmental injustice. Community groups have specifically called for extending the moratorium on new data centers at minimum through June 30, 2026.
The 2021 Bill That Fast-Tracked the Problem
Part of what’s fueling community anger is a 2021 county bill that fast-tracked data center development, bypassing traditional community input and sending projects directly into the planning and permitting process. Then in 2024, County Bill 52-2024 attempted to strip away the last remaining public land use review — the preliminary plan of subdivision — effectively removing public accountability from data center approvals. Advocacy groups fought back against CB-52, and the current moratorium is partly a result of sustained community pressure demanding that residents have a voice.
Who Answered — and Who Didn’t
Against this backdrop, the DC Liberation Center’s candidate questionnaire is a direct accountability test. Of the five candidates running for County Executive, only one responded. Front-runner Aisha Braveboy — the same official who extended the moratorium by executive order — gave no response to the questionnaire, along with Marcellus Crews, Charnell Ferguson, and Gregory Holmes. Only Billy Bridges went on record, calling for a permanent ban on hyperscale data centers in the county.
Across the County Council races, the responses show more engagement, with several candidates staking out clear positions:
At-Large Candidates:
- Noah Waters, Laura Gilchrest, Dr. Jennifer Rios, Keith Washington — Support a permanent ban
- Jolene Ivey — Does not support a ban
- Jeana Jacobs — Would allow data centers in limited non-residential zones with community protections
- Sean Floyd, Sydney Harrison — No response
District Candidates on Record:
- Darwin Romero (District 1) — Permanent ban
- Martin Mitchell (District 1) — Indefinite moratorium
- Daniel Armando Jones (District 2) — Permanent ban
- Eric Olsen (District 3) — “My default position is no on data centers,” setting a high bar for any future consideration
- Shayla Adams-Stafford & Wynton Johnson (District 5) — Permanent ban
- Joel Peebles (District 6) — Permanent ban
- Tamara Davis Brown, Imara Crooms, and Eleanor Washington (District 9) — Permanent ban
- Lolita Walker (District 9) — Opposes expansion until infrastructure readiness, environmental protections, and community impacts are fully evaluated through a transparent planning process
The Warning Voters Need to Hear
The DC Liberation Center’s message to voters is pointed and precise: if your elected officials can pause data center development for six months, they hold the legal power to stop it for two years — or permanently. That authority cuts both ways. Voters who choose candidates unwilling to answer basic questions about data centers today may find themselves without a voice when the next project breaks ground.
The county’s own task force findings and years of community advocacy have built the groundwork for meaningful protections. What happens next depends on who sits at the table — and who shows up to vote.
Key Dates
- 🗳 Early Voting: June 11, 2026
- 🗳 Primary Election Day: June 23, 2026
Full candidate questionnaire responses are available at the DC Liberation Center’s website.
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