Independence City Council member John Perkins lost his position after 68.05% of voters opted to oust him in a special election because he supported data centers. According to NBC News, Perkins was one of the five councilors who said yes to the tax breaks amounting to more than $6 billion for the Nebius data center being built in the area.
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Many members of the community have been campaigning against this development ahead of the March City Council meeting when these tax breaks were approved, but the council ended up voting 5-2 anyway in favor of the data center. Perkins is the third to have lost their seat after this vote, with Jared Fears, who was running for re-election in the city council, and Bridget McCandless, who was running for mayor, losing their respective bids.
“Politicians aren’t entitled to elected positions. They’re elected by the people to serve those people. When they stop serving the people they were elected to represent, they’re voted out of office,” a member of the Stop the AI Data Center in Independence Facebook group said. “This is democracy in action.” While Perkins hasn’t released a statement yet after the release of the unofficial results of the Special Recall Election, he previously said in an Op-Ed on The Kansas City Star that he stands by his decision to support the Nebius tax breaks and that recalling him would be a setback for the city.
“You can disagree with that call, and I respect that. However, disagreement isn’t a crime, and I don’t believe it is grounds to attempt to overturn an election that happened two years ago,” Perkins wrote. “One vote is not a reason to erase the previous hard work I’ve done for my district.”
Despite the massive support for ousting Perkins, we should also note that the voter turnout for this issue has been abysmally small. Out of the 14,250 registered voters in Jackson County, only 1,643, or 11.5%, went to the polls to vote for or against the councilor.
Another Missouri town has voted out half of its city council, which approved a data center project within its jurisdiction. The people of Festus, Missouri, ousted four of the eight members of its council in a regular election in April 2026 after they approved a 360-acre data center project in the area. Another petition was raised to have the remaining four members recalled, but the measure was shot down by the council.
The popularity of data centers has fallen across the country, with the number of bans and moratoriums over these developments exceeding 500, spread across towns, cities, counties, and even states. Interestingly, the pushback against these developments straddles beliefs and political affiliation, making it harder for hyperscalers to get new projects off the ground.