OPINION: Our people with the most at stake are being muted in Michigan’s Data Centers debate

The following is a Flintside opinion piece by Michael Clack, Candidate for Michigan State Representative, 70th District. Have an idea for an essay or opinion piece you’d like to write for Flintside? Email editor@flintside.com.

FLINT, Michigan — As a father, former educator, and community advocate, I often find myself taking a visual roll call of each room I enter, especially in the spaces where decisions are made that impact my family, neighbors, and the most vulnerable among us. 

If you must know one thing about my hometown of Flint, it’s that we take pride in having each other’s backs. Our raw, genuine character and action of “loving thy neighbor” is often seen in our advocacy efforts across the city and Genesee County. 

So, when I attend data center forums that are minimally marketed to be inclusive of all in our community, yet see the people of Flint missing in action, both my instinct and lived experience know that this is an intentional gut punch by those with power and money in order to gain more power and money. 

The emergence of space taken by big tech and corporate utility companies, both in our lives and in our politics, has become overwhelming and, quite frankly, unacceptable. Their ability to run commercials and internet ads that relentlessly push their will to build data centers across Michigan is nothing more than a highly expensive and limited engagement public relations scheme made to keep us ignorant to the greater implications at play. 

The AI boom has sent these same big tech and corporate utility companies on a crusade across our state, pushing the notion that these data centers are inevitable, but that doesn’t mean they should be given the green light to proceed at the expense of historically disenfranchised communities, including cities like Flint or our rural neighbors. 

The handful of public servants across Michigan who have voiced in favor of a moratorium on the construction of these data centers have the right idea and value in their convictions. 

Our Great Lakes are the most vital resource we have here in Michigan, and we must seek to hold corporations accountable, both in preventative and active measures that protect the lives, dignity, and agency of the most vulnerable amongst us, while also protecting our air, land, and water. 

These values are why I, too, am in favor of a moratorium; nonetheless, I urge us to go further to ensure that each of the affected parties are welcomed into spaces with decision makers, and are equal partners in the conversations on data centers in Michigan. 

So here’s my take: 

• A moratorium should be implemented and continued until the corporations who seek to build here in our state engage with and reach community benefits agreements. The U.S. Department of Energy defines Community Benefits Agreements as a legally binding contract between developers and community coalitions, ensuring private projects provide specific, negotiated public benefits in exchange for community support. These benefits include, but not limited to: affordable housing, local hiring, and environmental improvements.

• The parties included in such a community benefits agreement are: 
  • (1) area residents, who want to see their hometowns thrive, but not at the expense of our health, well-being, and resources. 
  • (2) labor unions, who will build, maintain, and work at these new data centers. They deserve good-paying, sustainable, and safe, union jobs and shouldn’t settle for any less. This includes pathways to apprenticeships for area residents seeking new career opportunities. 
  • (3) The governing bodies of the city, district, and state. Those who were either elected, appointed, or have aspirations to serve must be informed, transparent in their policy positions, and most importantly, be present and represent the best interests and lived experiences of the people of Flint. 

As a public servant, I have always been encouraged that if you love someone, you’ll willingly invest in them. That’s not just money, but also time, trust, and opportunity. If the corporations who seek to do business here truly want to show love, then they must both engage and invest in all of us within the community, not just the wealthy, powerful few. 

Simply put, if the people of Flint aren’t at the table in the development, operation, and ongoing accountability of these data centers, then we’ll surely be on the menu. 

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Michael Clack is a community activist, organizer, and former educator turned public servant who is a candidate for Michigan’s 70th House District in the 2026 Democratic primary.