Community leaders, members, and organizers called out Memphis City Council members after they voted to delay action on a data center moratorium ordinance.
During the regular meeting of the council on Tuesday, council member and Vice Chairman Chase Carlisle moved to delay voting on a slew of data center-related ordinances, including the proposed moratorium, until the October 20th meeting.
“As far as action on this item, we need to work through this quickly, and we’re almost towards the end of this thing,” Carlisle said prior the vote. “Respectfully, anybody that’s asking for a vote today is just asking us to not finish doing the process because someone told them it has to happen now and we’ve had three readings and all that stuff. It’s just not what we want to do. We want to continue working on the document.”
The council voted 7-5 in favor of holding off the vote on the ordinances, while agreeing to a meeting on Thursday to work through the remaining issues.
Attendees instantly erupted in protests and berated the council for delaying the vote again. Protesters could be seen with bullhorns and signs, while audience members berated council members for their actions. The chaos eventually led to chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington calling for a recess.
Policy organizer Amber Sherman shared her thoughts on Threads and called those who voted to postpone the vote “sellouts.”
A graphic from environmental advocacy group Young, Gifted and Green shows the seven proponents as “most likely to hit snooze” while the others were deemed to have “understood the assignment.”
“We’ll remember this at the reunion,” the post said.
A social media user known as Kevin Starr (@ayecova), said he wanted to speak on the data center issue on behalf of Memphis youth, and was not given that opportunity as the meeting ended before the public comment period.
“Yolanda Cooper-Sutton you disappointed many today, including me, you made it seem like you understood us,” Starr said in an Instagram post. “You made us all think you [were] with us and against the one[s] who decided to promote xAI.”
Starr promised to come back to the meeting in two weeks to share his thoughts.
KeShaun Pearson, executive director of Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP), called the day “extremely disappointing” and that he was “disheartened” by the council’s decision.
“It was ridiculous, the situation we were put in,” Pearson said. “It was ridiculous that public comment was not upheld for our community’s voice to be adequately listened to by the city council.
Pearson said the community deserved a moratorium, and promised to be back for the next vote.
Council member Jerri Green, who voted against holding the vote, released a statement acknowledging the presence of people who packed the auditorium. She also expressed her “disappointment” in the council for deciding to “kick the can down the road.”
“Everyday residents packed these chambers, taking precious time away from work and families because they are living with the urgent, real-time strain these heavy industrial data centers place on our public infrastructure, our air, and the Memphis Sand Aquifer,” Green said.
“It is our fundamental duty as legislators, elected by the people, to vote on the issues before us, up or down, and to have the moral courage to take a stand one way or the other. To delay is to shirk the responsibilities we signed up for when we asked voters to elect us to serve.”
