Op-ed: First Hand Experience At the Vivek Townhall

BY DIANE BOGUSKI

I attended a town hall meeting Saturday, August 15, 2026, hosted by Ohio Gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in Columbus, Ohio.

The main topic: DATA CENTERS.

As I sat there listening to story after story, and there were many of them, of folks affected by the sudden onslaught of the invasive data center construction, they could have very well been talking about our plight here in Allen Township and Findlay, Ohio.

It was the same blueprint, only the names were different. One distraught woman called it a life consuming battle and invasion. They all mentioned lack of trust and confidence in their elected officials. Many are battling in court only to find out how overmatched they are with the big corporate attorneys.

Communities are unprepared and uninformed as local elected officials are forming private/ public partnerships with these entities and signing NDA’S.

FOIA’S are being denied, zoning codes skirted and land use practices abused.

The people’s voice is being silenced with zero recourse because our Ohio Legislators ran blocker for these data center developers creating laws and legislation that protects them and not the communities. Special interest and lobbyists run this state.

What has happened to America?

What has happened to OHIO?

We are in a fight, and it is We The People against them: our own weak and greedy elected officials.

They can stand up to these entities, but they choose not to. Too much money and career advancements are at stake.

There needs to be state standards for every data center with regulations and oversight.

Not something cooked up by Wexner and his band of thieves in New Albany, Ohio. No Tax abatements. No sacrifices from the community with STRICT regulations on air quality, water quality, noise prevention and environmental protection. There should be no threat to the quality of life of the community.

If the developer cannot meet our standards and demands, then they cannot come to the area.

Vivek took the hard questions, took it on the chin a few times, but he listened. That’s why he is doing these town halls. He even stated his perspective has changed quite a bit since Spring 2025.

He closed by saying he wants to create a government in Ohio that reports back to the people. After all …. That’s who he will be working for.

Put non-stop pressure on our local elected officials. The Findlay Mayor does not know what is best for our community, We The People do.

 AFTER ALL - SHE WORKS FOR US.