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There are two races for the Palm Beach County Commission in November. In our Election Spotlight this morning, we're focusing on the one for District 6, which covers areas like Wellington, Royal Palm Beach and other parts of western Palm Beach County.
Republican Sara Baxter is the incumbent, currently serving as County Mayor, and after prevailing in the August Primary she faces the Democrat nominee, former State Representative Katherine Waldron.
The county commission last week approved a moratorium for up to one year on any new large-scale AI data centers. That's something Waldron had been calling for.
"They're not really making money and there is over a trillion dollars in stricter financing going around to build these things. So my concern is also that it will be built and then maybe they go bust or whatever. And that is why when I spoke out against Project Tango, I specifically suggested that at the very least there should be some type of performance bond included in that to protect the community."
She also voices concerns about water usage, despite a state law that regulates that and keeps Floridians from paying more for electricity due to data center usage.
Baxter says she was the one who initially proposed the moratorium because the original data center approved several years ago was not nearly as large as the one that came back to the commission as 'Project Tango,' and she doesn't believe the land is zoned properly for it.
"They are not the same as they once were. Now we're looking at hyperscale data centers, which can be very detrimental to residents and I'm hoping during this moratorium, or let's say it's a zoning-in-progress, that we look at reclassifying them from 'light industrial' to 'heavy industrial'."
We also revisit the news from June, when Baxter dropped out of her race for re-election to run for Congress, before reversing course and getting back in this race just a few days later. That came after President Trump publicly requested that she do so.
Waldron says that while she doesn't want to disparage Baxter, it wasn't a good look.
"I don't know her reasons for getting in or getting out but from a high level it does kind of seem like you're not as committed to the county, to the district when you do that."
In the run-up to the Primary in August, we asked Baxter her reason for getting back in this race...
"When the president says 'I need you here more than I need you in Congress,' I believe there's a respect of office owed to the President of the United States."
Baxter's campaign has not returned our request for an updated interview ahead of the November election.