Have you heard about the data center controversy? Probably, it’s been one of the hottest topics in recent local history. Weekly Villager, The Portager, Record Courier, and even USA Today reporters have been seen all over the county covering the trustee and town council meetings. A statewide group, Conserve Ohio, has been created, and members are circulating a petition to ban large data centers. A local group, Portage Residents for Responsible Development, was created for spearheading education and resistance in Portage County and surrounding areas. If you are new to this topic, welcome. The outcome will affect us all!
As more and more groups are becoming interested/alarmed about the rapid growth of data centers, specifically the hyper data centers of over 100 megawatts, many are holding meetings to educate their membership. This past Monday, July 6, the Kent chapter of League of Women Voters hosted Jessica Winchell and Sam Shultz for a presentation of their part in the movement.
This was held at Hobbs Hall in Kent, and the room was packed. Open to members and guests alike, attendance was nearly 100. LOWV president introduced Jessica, who spoke as Sam supported her presentation with a slide show. Titled, “I’m Just a Little Guy”, she shared the journey they have been on since becoming involved in April.
Jessica and Sam are typical residents of Portage County. Jessica grew up on a farm in Garrettsville. Both hold full-time jobs. Most of us can relate to them…just regular people. How did they get themselves into this fight against big money corporations like Meta, and Bitdeer? (Meta is the corporation behind Facebook and Instagram, Bitdeer is a Cryptocurrency mining operation from Singapore.)
In early April, Jessica saw a Tik Tok video presented by Ohio Residents for Responsible Development, led by Austin Baurichter. It was a call for help from all counties, seeking individuals to organize and train petition circulators on a local level. Jessica saw it, shared it with Sam, and thought it would be ‘a fun side project for a couple of months.’ This comment brought laughter from the audience, as they knew that to be quite an understatement.
So, her ‘fun side-project’ started by creating their own Facebook page, Portage Residents for Responsible Development. On day 1 it had 2 followers, by May it had 500. In late May, when the news of the Shalersville hyper center proposal broke, followers went to 2,600! Jessica was approached to plan and lead a protest coinciding with the Bitdeer/Geis Open house held on May 29, 2026. She also is on the Citizens’ Advisory Board for Shalersville. Jessica and Sam dedicated their page to content research, politicians and DC impact. They are careful of the content allowed on their page, making sure to vet it as carefully as possible.
With their help, Portage County already has over 3,000 signatures on the petition alone, while statewide the count is (at the moment of presentation) over 102,000 and growing daily. This puts the count at 25% of what is needed for the November ‘27 ballot.
What did she learned during her fun side-project? “When lots of little voices join together they become very big!” She likened it to the billions of drops of water that eventually form the ocean! So, in her time as “Just a Little Guy,” she has a few lessons learned..
How to Amplify Your Message:
• Be transparent and direct. Tell people what you believe, and why-not what you think they should believe.
• Ask for help clearly and often. This is too big a job for a small group of people. It affects us all!
• Use all the tools at your disposal. Even artificial intelligence! For example, in late May, there was a data center website published, with minimal information. Jessica and Sam followed its url and found it was hosted by wix, which also clones. They were able to buy all the code used on this site and found hidden pages…in which they broke the news that Bitdeer was behind the proposal for Shalersville. AI augmenting the fight!
• Beware of the ‘Tone Police.’ Often, people will say to ‘soften’ or change the message. Attacks on the form of the communication rather than the substance. ‘Be a little quieter.’ ‘You’re over-reacting.’ Her response, one that resonated with many, “Take up space!”
She finished her presentation with a question-and-answer session. Most of the questions asked are topics for articles and discussion on their page, Portage Residents for Responsible Development. If you want more information about Data Centers, or want to get involved, please go to their page, or conserveohio.com.
I wonder when her ‘fun side-project’ will settle down. Probably not very soon.
