Candidate Guide: Every Calvert County Commissioner Candidate’s Stance On Data Centers

Nondisclosure agreements. In county government. Over land use decisions that will determine what gets built next to people's homes and where their water and power get siphoned off to. That's the detail that ought to stop every Calvert County resident cold, and it's the detail that turned a fairly routine local infrastructure debate into something closer to a trust crisis.

Data centers themselves are not the villain here. They're coming to every county in America whether we like it or not, and there are legitimate arguments for the tax revenue and jobs they bring. Commissioners who support responsible development aren't wrong to weigh that. What's indefensible is officials signing paperwork that gags them from telling their own constituents what's being negotiated on their behalf. That's not a technical detail. That's the whole ballgame. You cannot ask voters to trust a growth plan they weren't allowed to see coming.

This is exactly why the commissioner race matters more than the usual local election filler. Every candidate now has to answer not just "are you for or against data centers" but "would you have signed that NDA, and would you sign the next one." Those are different questions, and voters deserve candidates honest enough to separate them instead of hiding behind vague talk about "smart growth."

Calvert County isn't asking for much. Just tell people what's happening to their county before it's already decided. If a candidate can't commit to that, their position on data centers doesn't matter much at all.