Katie Muth isn\u2019t running for governor, but she\u2019s the strongest write-in candidate for the job in Pennsylvania history.<\/p>\n
The Democratic state senator representing parts of Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties was on the stump in Throop on Thursday night, headlining a \u201ccommunity conversation\u201d on invasive hyperscale data center development at the Mid Valley Secondary Center.<\/p>\n
About 175 citizens from across Lackawanna County attended the event, organized by Throop native Heather Luklanchuk and the nonprofit NEPA Stands Up<\/a>. Muth\u2019s bold opposition to industrial exploitation and her introduction of a Senate bill requiring a three-year moratorium on data center development in Pennsylvania made her a hero to the statewide data center resistance.<\/p>\n Incumbent Gov. Josh Shapiro is the state\u2019s top Democrat and will almost certainly win a second term on Nov. 3, but a growing grassroots movement to write in Muth could prove to be another embarrassing public rebuke to Shapiro\u2019s earnest early advocacy for data centers and put a dent in his presidential aspirations.<\/p>\n Muth is not shy about her disappointment in Shapiro\u2019s erratic, insufficient leadership on the issue, which is emulated by too many of her colleagues in the Legislature.<\/p>\n \u201cI work with a lot of thin-skinned people,\u201d Muth said. \u201cThey do not like to be called out for anything, and you all are doing what the public should do \u2014 holding the government accountable. And that is a hard job, and I express endless gratitude, because if you don\u2019t do it, who will?\u201d<\/p>\n Muth\u2019s Throop visit came a day after the Texas-based developer behind Project Gravity hosted a \u201ccommunity information session<\/a>\u201d at the Archbald Borough Building. Corscale Data Centers<\/a> invited the public to enjoy Old Forge-style pizza, personal-size stromboli, porketta mini-hoagies and other \u201cethnic, working class fare\u201d while digesting Corscale\u2019s plans to build seven data centers \u2014 each with a 138,000-square-foot footprint \u2014 across 180-plus acres between Eynon Jermyn Road and Business Route 6.<\/p>\n Most who accepted Corscale\u2019s invitation rejected the spread as strongly as they oppose the project. Some supporters did show up, mostly local business types networking with industry reps. Despite the well-documented public opposition, there are many who still see invasive data center development as inevitable. If these things are going to be built, they want their piece of the porketta.<\/p>\n Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan hopes they choke on it. (I\u2019m paraphrasing. The commissioner does not advocate choking.) The featured speaker at the NEPA Stands Up event, Gaughan promised to be brief. He was not. The crowd didn\u2019t hold it against him.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s one thing that I\u2019ve heard from people, it is that they think the fix is in, they think the deal is done, and there\u2019s nothing that we can do (to stop invasive data center development),\u201d Gaughan said. \u201cI can tell you from the bottom of my heart, it is not over yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Also a Democrat, Gaughan noted that the \u201ctop dog\u201d of his party was brought to heel when Archbald yanked his leash.<\/p>\n \u201cWe, like other places in the state and the country, because of all that you\u2019ve done, the fact that you\u2019re here tonight and packing these conditional use hearings, you are the reason that we still can defeat this,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten the attention of some of the highest levels of government.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernor Shapiro clearly heard from Archbald and the Midvalley, because he did a total 180 on his position, and the only reason that the politicians are making these 180s is because you are making your voice heard, and we need to continue to do that even when the election is over.\u201d<\/p>\n