[ [link removed] ]Francesca Hong for Governor[ [link removed] ]Francesca Hong for Governor



Jack,

Friend,

Two big news items recently broke on data centers. Here's what they mean.

We finally know the price tag: $2 billion. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau
confirmed that Wisconsin's 2023 data center sales tax exemption will
[ [link removed] ]cost us $1.5 billion in foregone revenue during construction, plus $369
million every year after. That money could be funding schools, roads, and
child care, but instead it’s going instead to Microsoft, Meta, and
Vantage.

The same day, the Public Service Commission [ [link removed] ]unanimously ruled that Big
Tech has to pay for the power plants running their own data centers.
That's a meaningful protection, and it happened because thousands of
Wisconsinites flooded the PSC with comments and refused to be quiet. The
movement is working.

But we're not out of the woods. We Energies is still pushing a 9.2% rate
hike over the next two years. New dirty energy is being built across this
state — gas plants, generators — to power data centers, with the climate
costs borne by all of us and the electricity going to none of us. That's
why this race matters.

The most recent Marquette Law School Poll found 70% of Wisconsinites say
data centers cost more than they're worth, and opposition has surged
across party lines.

Even Tom Tiffany has jumped on the bandwagon, announcing this month that
he'd end data center subsidies as governor. Yes, the same guy who's taken
about $11,500 from the PAC tied to We Energies and voted to slash funding
for the Citizens Utility Board, the ratepayer advocates who helped win
Friday's ruling.

He didn't have a problem with corporate handouts before the polls moved.
And let's be serious here: Once the cameras are off and his donors come
calling, he'll change his mind right back. I've been leading on this issue
since day one.

In January, I introduced [ [link removed] ]CONTROL-ALT-DELETE, the most comprehensive AI
data center policy plan in this race. I'm calling for a moratorium on new
construction, an end to tax breaks for Big Tech, and public ownership of
new energy infrastructure.

We have more AI policy in the works, and we'll be sharing later this week
— watch this space for more!

[ [link removed] ]In the meantime, chip in $5, $10, or whatever you can — it will
encourage us to work faster :)



[ [link removed] ]Donate $5 ››



In solidarity,

Fran





You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]