Mohammad Faraj doesn’t believe the Data Center hype

Data Centers — are they worth the hype?

Judging by the impact this industry craze is having on residential electricity rates, Cleveland city council Ward 7 candidate, Mohammad Faraj, isn’t convinced this is an industry that Cleveland should invest in.

According to Data Center Maps, there are 191 data centers throughout 13 markets in Ohio. In Cleveland, the map shows 24 data centers, none currently in the new Ward 7 of Detroit-Shoreway, Ohio City, and Tremont.

Data centers are warehouses with servers and required cooling equipment that essentially store information but consume extraordinary amounts of energy and water. The increased use of AI is seen as a driver for the rapid construction of data centers.

“Supporting a strong labor market is a key part of my vision for Ward 7—and that includes development built by Cleveland workers. But data centers are proving to be massive capital investments with minimal reward for actual workers,” cautions Mohammad.

According to current state estimates for 2025, Ohio is on track to waive $127 million in taxes for data centers, but there is very little evidence this is trickling down to workers and more evidence that data centers’ massive use of energy is actually increasing your electricity bill.

“Just like the natural gas boom of the 2000s, the state of Ohio wants us to believe that hundreds-of-millions of your tax dollars should fund ginormous grid investments only necessary for data centers that tend to stick ratepayers with the bill.”

With FirstEnergy’s $60 million bribery scandal still lingering over our heads, Mohammad cautions against getting fooled into subsidizing another industry boom solely for shareholders’ benefits. In fact, communities across the country are voicing their concerns with data centers’ strain on local resources:

• https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/25/texas-data-center-water-use/

• https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/local-regional/2025-09-26/citing-water-concerns-community-pushes-back-against-proposed-data-centers

• https://planetdetroit.org/2025/09/washtenaw-data-center-opposition/

• https://www.govtech.com/products/why-a-pennsylvania-county-pushed-pause-on-data-centers

• https://atlanta.capitalbnews.org/black-community-in-south-fulton-fight-georgias-data-center-boom/

• https://www.alleghenyfront.org/allegheny-county-springdale-cheswick-power-plant-community-concern/

“So many residents of Ward 7 are struggling to afford their rapidly increasing electricity bill. Now is the time for Cleveland city government to make sure they’re putting the interests of the residents first and those of data center shareholders second,” believes Mohammad.