CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — U.S. Rep. Dave Taylor will hold a telephone town hall on artificial intelligence and data centers on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 8 p.m., an announcement that lands in the middle of the loudest fight over the industry since it arrived in southern Ohio.
Taylor, a Republican whose 2nd District includes Ross County, announced the call in a post on Friday: “Our Buckeye State is rapidly emerging as a national hub for innovation and digital infrastructure, but the development of AI and data centers must be built on a foundation of trust, transparency, and collaboration with Ohio families.”
“Join my Telephone Town Hall next Tuesday, November 10th, to discuss how we can continue to champion Ohio’s digital leadership while keeping our communities strong,” he wrote.
Constituents register through Taylor’s House website at taylor.house.gov/townhall-rsvp. His announcement lists three topics for the call: economic growth and job creation from digital infrastructure; local collaboration, giving southern Ohio families a voice in development; and reliable American energy, expanding the power grid while lowering costs.
Why Ross County is listening
The debate is already live in Taylor’s home territory. SOAR AI is developing an AI data center campus at the former paper mill site in Chillicothe. City Council rescinded its 60-day data center moratorium in September, after a February letter from Chief Building Official Brandon Gill surfaced certifying that a data center is a permitted use at the site. The city is now writing new zoning rules for data centers, data halls, battery storage and cryptocurrency operations, and takes public input on them Nov. 16 at the Armory building in Yoctangee Park.
Statewide, the politics shifted last week: on Nov. 3, Ohio voters approved a ban, a limit or a voter-approval requirement in all 21 local data center measures on the ballot, in 18 communities — the broadest rebuke of the industry in the nation that night.
The telephone format itself has drawn fire. Comments on Taylor’s announcement were dominated by residents criticizing the choice of a phone call over an in-person meeting, arguing that a telephone town hall lets questions be screened. One local critic has promised an update on Monday about an organized response.
The call is open to constituents who register in advance through Taylor’s office.
