“I think that the problems that people have heard about data centers have been solved in this case,” Craig said.
Two councilmembers seeking re-election, Herb Kai and John Officer, did not participate in the forum Thursday night hosted by the League of Women Voters of Southern Arizona.
Officer has been on the council since 2017 and spent over 30 years working for the Central Arizona Project. He told the Star Marana is well-equipped to handle the resource demands from the data center, and said the tax revenue will go towards town services.
Officer
Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star, file 2019
Kai
Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star, File 2019
Murphy
Photo courtesy of Teri Murphy for Marana Town Council.
“The data center is going to be great for the community. It’s going to be great for the schools, it’s going to be great for the fire department,” he said.
Kai, a farmer and business owner according to his campaign biography, did not respond to an interview request from the Star.
Kai owned one of the two parcels of land rezoned for the data center, the Star previously reported, and recused himself from all “discussions, deliberations, or voting,” the town said. Though not directly named, the Marana for the People candidates said the council needs a stronger ethics code.
McGuire and Ritz advocated for an independent review system for ethics complaints against councilmembers.
“There is a very, very thin line between legal and ethical. And just because something is legal does not mean it is ethical. And if you run for elected office, you are signing up to be held to a standard that is higher than just what is legal,” McGuire said.
Potential ballot referendum