State Rep. Rhett Marques (R-Enterprise) is siding with President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) when it comes to building new data centers in the Yellowhammer State.
The issue of new data center construction has been divisive as several cities across Alabama have been placing moratoriums on new data center projects this year, including Fort Payne, Cullman, Birmingham, Leeds, and Homewood.
Marques, who running for U.S. House in Alabama’s second congressional district, discussed the matter Friday on “The Rightside” with Allison Sinclair and Amie Beth Shaver, in partnership with Yellowhammer News.
“As far as data centers, that is, I believe it is a local issue,” Marques said. “Okay, so data, what I’m on right now is is using data center stuff, and what you do with your podcast, it uses AI. It’s coming. It’s growing.”
The candidate believes that we can’t let China get ahead of the U.S. when it comes to the latest AI technology.
“We, I believe that President Trump is right,” he said. “We have got to stay in front of the Chi-coms in the technology war, and it is a technology war, but we also have to be respectful for the people who don’t want the data centers in their counties and then their municipalities. But I think it should be a local issue. I don’t think the state and the feds need to put a moratorium on it or force it. It needs to be a local.”
Marques argued that there are many cities in the state that will greatly benefit from new data centers being built nearby.
“There’s plenty of room in Alabama, and plenty of counties and municipalities want a data center because of amount of revenue it generates,” he explained. “You know, from property tax, it generates an enormous amount of money. I personally don’t want it one next to me, but there are other places in the state that do want it, and they should have that right. I believe in the free market. The free market should reign.”
He also weighed in on the controversial issue of FLOCK cameras, which are surveillance tools used in some cities to track cars and read license plates on the roads.
“FLOCK cameras do concern me,” he said. “You know, it’s collecting data that never goes away. I understand that we need to make sure that we protect the citizens of this country from under the Biden administration. People came across unvetted 10-20 million people. Who knows how many? There was some bad people, bad bad people that came across the border, and we need to protect the the citizens of this country. So I get the law enforcement side of that, but I also think that we have to protect the people’s right to privacy under the Fourth Amendment.”
Watch “The Rightside with Allison and Amie Beth” weekdays from 10am-12pm at www.rightsidemedia.org.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
