Kotek Reverses Course on Data Centers Days After Drazan Attack Ad

Governor backs broader moratorium after months of saying she would await her advisory committee’s recommendations; committee report pushed past Election Day

A post from Gov. Tina Kotek’s X account about her order pausing state work on data center development on state land amid attacks from Christine Drazan and public concern over data centers and AI

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Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek backtracked on her plan to await the findings of her own data center advisory committee before pursuing stricter regulations, just days after Republican challenger Christine Drazan unveiled a campaign ad accusing Kotek of showering data centers with tax breaks while raising taxes on Oregonians.

Drazan first announced her ad September 3. On September 8, at an anti-data center rally on the Capitol steps, Kotek announced she was pausing development of data centers on state land and supported a broader moratorium including development on private land, for which she said she needs legislative action. She had previously said she would wait for the Oregon Data Center Advisory Committee, which she formed in January, to issue its final report, then expected in October. The committee now expects to release its report by the end of the year, after the November 3 election.

Drazan’s ad and Kotek’s quick reaction highlights the perceived potency in the closely watched governor’s race of the data center and artificial intelligence blowback that has seized American politics in recent months.

The plan: a committee “in line” with economic development goals, with report due in October

Kotek announced the committee January 20 in a press release that describes the purpose of the committee as primarily focused on the economic benefit of data centers, while “striving” to mitigate their negative effects:

to take strategic advantage of the economic development opportunity created by new data centers and other large load industrial consumers of electricity, while striving to keep utility costs, infrastructure upgrades, and environmental impacts sustainable for all Oregonians[.]

The committee’s deadline for its final report, according to Kotek’s press release, was “no later than October 2026.”

In a document describing the work of the committee, the Kotek Administration charged the group with operating “in line with the work of Governor Kotek’s Prosperity Roadmap[.]” The roadmap, and the council consisting mostly of business leaders Kotek appointed to develop it, have since come under fire from Portland Democratic Socialists of America and other progressive groups tugging Kotek and her party leftward.

In subsequent months, voter angst over data centers took center stage nationally and in Oregon. Portland pollster DHM Research found in July that 71% of Oregon voters had a negative view of data centers, 66% supported a temporary halt on new data centers and 73% opposed tax breaks to attract data centers.

Despite the growing pressure, Kotek consistently said she would await the final report of the committee before detailing her approach to statewide data center regulations. She told OPB July 2 she would wait for the committee’s recommendations before weighing in on regulations. August 7, she announced that she supported local moratoria on data center development, “until the findings and recommendations of [the committee] can be reviewed and a new statutory framework can be considered by the legislature next year.” She blocked the sale of state land for a specific data center project in Salem.

While supporting local moratoria, Kotek’s press release stated, “the state lacks authority to enact a statewide moratorium[.]” (Emphasis added).

The day prior, August 6, committee co-chair Margaret Hoffman had already made clear that a moratorium would not be among its recommendations.

As recently as August 30, Kotek’s spokesperson told reporters she was withholding judgment on data center regulations until the committee “finishes their work.”

Meanwhile, the scant publicly available polling (in July, Drazan released a poll commissioned by her campaign showing her leading Kotek by four points) suggested a tight race between the women.

The new plan: statewide moratorium supported and committee report to come after the election

Drazan announced her data center ad September 3. The ad says Kotek “rolled out the red carpet for data centers” while “ignoring the concerns of Oregon communities.” It claims she gave data centers $1 billion in tax breaks, while raising taxes on Oregonians by over $6 billion. Kotek’s top legislative priority for 2025, a $4.3 billion gas and payroll tax and vehicle fee hike package, was ultimately and resoundingly rejected by voters in May.

Kotek’s response was rapid, and took two forms. She announced the state land pause and support for a broader moratorium September 8 at the Capitol steps rally organized by progressive environmental and social-advocacy groups including Food & Water Watch, Oregon Rural Action and Columbia Riverkeeper.

Kotek directed agencies to halt unapproved easements, rights of way, leases, land-use permits, sales and transfers of state property of data center projects through July 1, 2027. She said she needs legislative action to enact the broader moratorium.

The next day, Kotek unveiled her own data center ad hitting Drazan for voting against a bill intended to prevent data center electricity use from driving up costs for other consumers. The ad cites Kotek’s support for the data center moratoria she had announced the day before.

Simultaneously, the due date for the data center committee’s report shifted, without public explanation as to why, from October to December, according to Kotek’s press release about her ad. In response to a question from Oregon Capitol Chronicle about the changing timeline, a Kotek spokesperson said, “The Governor has always said that the state needs to get this right.”

Kotek’s efforts to let AI-skeptical voters know about her anti-data center stance included a post by the official Governor’s office Twitter/X account Friday of a photo of her at the Capitol rally, with the curiously crafted sentence, “I’ve directed every state agency to pause work for state land to support new data centers.”

The post was flagged by X as “Made with AI.”

Oregon Roundup Foundation created this article. ORF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation dedicated to covering Oregon political and government news. Media outlets are welcome to use this article for free with attribution of the author and Oregon Roundup Foundation.