reported<\/a> on Thursday that Bresnahan owns millions of dollars\u2019 worth of data center-related stock, much of it in \u201cbillion-dollar corporations that try to fight us.\u201d He introduced a bill promoting \u201clocal control\u201d of data center development, but so far it has gone nowhere, much like his entirely performative bill to ban congressional stock trading.<\/p>\nBecause I regularly interact face-to-face with Bresnahan\u2019s constituents, I can report with certainty that the \u201cArchbald\u201d ad backfired spectacularly among the people actually fighting the industrialized annihilation of the borough.<\/p>\n
Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, Bresnahan\u2019s Democratic opponent in the 8th Congressional District race, attended four of the Wildcat Ridge hearings but was not in the Valley View High School auditorium Wednesday evening. It was a huge missed opportunity for her campaign, and her absence disappointed many who were there.<\/p>\n
In a Friday email to council and borough Manager Dan Markey, Cognetti said she missed the hearing due to a prior commitment that couldn\u2019t be rescheduled and asked that the following testimony be added to the hearing record:<\/p>\n
\u201cI have had the honor of attending four Wildcat Ridge hearings since the beginning of the year, witnessing firsthand both the extraordinary fight of the residents of Archbald, Eynon, Jessup, and from across Lackawanna County, and the appalling performances of the representatives of the project\u2019s funders, who to this day are still hiding critical information, identities, and ultimate goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the mother of two young children, I have been heartened by the tenacity of the Stop Archbald Data Centers organization in their mission to block projects that would overwhelm their hometown and deteriorate their quality of life, not to mention endanger the surrounding region\u2019s health, air, and water.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Mayor of Scranton, I remain grateful for the opportunity to learn how to navigate the suspicious tactics of the project\u2019s funders to better inform our city\u2019s own fight against similarly proposed projects in Newton and Ransom townships, which loom large above the Scranton city line and threaten to overtake our stormwater management systems and ruin our residents\u2019 quality of life. Additionally, the buildup of projects in Archbald and other places in Lackawanna County would likely rely on an expansion of PPL\u2019s infrastructure that cuts across West Mountain above Scranton, an expansion that we fear would cause destructive water damage to our residents, businesses, roads, and storm mitigation infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd as a candidate for U.S. Congress, I have been inspired by the people of Archbald, who continue to set an extraordinary example for what a community can do in the face of predatory development. Your determination and resolve have inspired and educated others all across NEPA, and even across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI praise the Archbald Borough Council members for refusing to be bullied by the greed of others. Your steadfastness in standing up to the reprehensible behavior of the project\u2019s legal team and their request for your recusal is a testament to your courage and concern for those you faithfully serve.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, there may be data center projects that deserve consideration, for example, next to the nuclear facility in Berwick, or at the site of a decommissioned coal plant in Homer City. But only after rigorous vetting, the host community\u2019s across-the-board approvals, full transparency, commitments to use local union labor, commitments to provide energy without raising costs on residents, and binding community benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, at this moment in time, there are absolutely zero projects in Lackawanna County and in all of Pennsylvania\u2019s 8th Congressional District, that should be allowed to move forward. I say shut them all down. Transparency has been lacking at every turn, with ominous non-disclosure agreements inundating permit applications and ensuing hearings, shrouding the identities of the developers, the LLCs, and the AI companies involved. The public has a right to absolute transparency when it comes to those who intend to invade their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sternly warn that we will never welcome these modern-day robber barons looking to make a quick buck to the detriment of our communities. Honestly, they should have packed it in months ago. And that includes the Wildcat project and every other Up Valley and Mid Valley proposal. To the project developers, I implore you to recognize that this community clearly does not want what you are selling. For the benefit of yourselves, your time, and your money, if for nothing else, please \u2013 GET OUT.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, Archbald Borough officials, for allowing me this opportunity to stand with all of you in defense of our entire region\u2019s quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the congressman would like to make a statement to the people of Archbald between now and Nov. 3, this space is available.<\/p>\n
Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan attended every installment of the Wildcat Ridge hearing and took the bully pulpit on Wednesday with customary gusto. Gaughan, whom I\u2019ve taken to calling \u201cBFK\u201d owing to his fiery (if sometimes overly verbose) oratory against invasive data center development, got a standing ovation for standing up in defense of his constituents.<\/p>\n
I confess feeling a fleeting pang of pity for Campbell, whose summation was sandwiched between Gaughan\u2019s speech and the closing argument of Stop Archbald Data Centers attorney Justin Richards, who has mopped the floor with Campbell and Co. from the outset.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll we can ask, and all we do ask, is that you exercise your common sense,\u201d Richards implored council. \u201cYou rely on the record before you, rely only on what you have been presented with in these hearings, and you reach the only conclusion that will safeguard the health, safety and welfare of these people, your people: Deny this application.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fittingly, Tamara Misewicz-Healey had the last word. The wife, mother of three, industrial hygienist and co-founder of Stop Archbald Data Centers<\/a> has been an especially sharp thorn in Campbell\u2019s side. The sing-song cadence of her voice and professional expertise clearly cut him to the bone. She knows it, and pours it on accordingly.<\/p>\n\u201cWe demand the integrity of our town. We demand you actually follow your own rules, your own zoning, and your own comprehensive plan, and listen to the people of this town,\u201d Misewicz-Healey told council. \u201cBecause without the people, you don\u2019t have a town.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all over but the voting.<\/p>\n
CHRIS KELLY, The Times-Tribune columnist, anticipates unusually heavy voter turnout on Nov. 3. Contact the writer: ckelly@scrantontimes.com; @cjkink on X; Chris Kelly, The Times-Tribune on Facebook; and @chriskellyink on Bluesky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The longer the wait and the more earnest the anticipation of a moment, the more anticlimactic its eventual…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[2117,1590,2116,201,182,3052,139,1559,1560,28,178,180,179,729],"class_list":["post-285001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-archbald","tag-chris-kelly","tag-data-centers","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-midvalley","tag-news","tag-opinion","tag-opinion-columnists","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}