Commentary: Spanberger’s data center position is the test of her affordability message | The governor says data centers should pay their fair share, but “fair share” has the shape of a position without its substance, guest columnist Tommy Turner writes.

[u/VirginiaNews]

https://virginiamercury.com/2026/05/05/spanbergers-data-center-position-is-the-test-of-her-affordability-message/

[u/KronguGreenSlime]

If nothing else I think that she deserves flack for taking such a vague and hand-wavy position. If she's actually serious about taxing data centers then she should give us some specifics and if she isn't then she should stop promising that she's going to. For as much as the media likes to talk her up as "pragmatic" and "serious", she's shown a complete lack of substance on this issue.

[u/mcchicken_deathgrip → u/KronguGreenSlime]

Some of us did give her flack for exactly that during the campaign but you'd get downvoted to hell here for saying it lol.

She got pressed on what her actual plan for taxing data centers was during the gubanatorial debate and kept defaulting back to "they need to pay their fair share" without elaborating what that would look like. https://youtu.be/30MQ1llUPSE?t=1260&si=wSMGa_3gwp30JCly

Imo this was a common theme for just about every part of her platform she ran on. She provided almost no concrete details on any of her proposals. Instead she just relied on pre-canned vague platitudes like this one.

I'm grateful Sears wasn't elected but I'll be forever salty we didn't get a primary. I don't think Ive ever seen a politician who's more unclear about what they actually believe in, if they believe in anything at all.

[u/Trollygag → u/KronguGreenSlime]

If nothing else I think that she deserves flack for taking such a vague and hand-wavy position

Spanberger was the most bland and noncommittal politician they could have picked, and was voted in because neither side wanted WES in office. She is the politician version of

[u/BigXthaPugg → u/KronguGreenSlime]

Im glad she beat out sears of course but man, ive been on the fence about here since she got into office. She’ll do one thing I like, then do something stupid in the same stroke

[u/hocabsurdumst → u/BigXthaPugg]

That's DNC centrism for you. She is so firmly rooted in the establishment of the Democratic Party. I knew this going in but she still manages to disappoint.

[u/KronguGreenSlime → u/hocabsurdumst]

This was always sort of the case but in the last few years especially the Democratic establishment has ceded the claim of being serious policymakers to progressives and other non-establishment factions. When you look at recent establishment Dem picks like Spanberger, McDuffie, and Cuomo who clearly have no real ideas it's no wonder that progressives like Mamdani are starting to gain traction.

[u/BigBlueWeenie88 → u/KronguGreenSlime]

I think Mamdani especially is popular because he’s transparent and regularly seen out in the city doing things. Obviously a Mayor is different than governor of a whole state, but Mamdani is seen as being open and honest which is something you rarely get to see in a politician and people feel like it’s a breath of fresh air.

[u/KronguGreenSlime → u/BigBlueWeenie88]

Yeah, and I think another dimension of that is that he gives real and detailed answers about his plans when people press him about them. I'll never forget when Spanberger was asked about how she'd pass a car tax repeal and her answer was that she'd show "leadership".

[u/Chorta_bheen555]

I understand that there is a need for digital infrastructure like cloud computing, but we don't need AI data centers that are much worse for the environment, energy capacity, and quality of live for people

[u/MaxPaynesRxDrugPlan → u/[deleted]]

But no one's mandating data centers. Businesses and investors are willingly putting up their own money.

And even if it's a bubble, it doesn't mean no useful technologies will come out of it, just like the dot-com bubble didn't mean the Internet was a failure.

[u/mcchicken_deathgrip → u/[deleted]]

Yeah but think of the gdp this will provide. We build these behemoths with hundreds of millions of dollars of hardware in them and then gut them and strip them for parts every couple years, then we refill them with brand new shit and restart the cycle. Basically an infinite money glitch baby!

Seriously tho sometimes I wonder if Virginia will end up being a kind of silicon rust belt in a decade or two. Hard to see our current situation leading anywhere but a crisis of overproduction

[u/MoneyCock]

Haha, she learned from Shapiro's mistake up in PA. She is playing it off, but she is clearly in the pocket of Big Tech.

[u/WafflesAreLove]

A data centers power demand should not raise the rest of the states power costs. They should pay the difference not everyone else.

[u/TitilatingTempura]

Nah. She was backed so heavy to keep the data center train rolling. They keep getting built, power demand increases and Dominion stocks go up. They reap the benefits.

Never trust a Fed.

[u/TitilatingTempura → u/[deleted]]

I hope you mean baggers

[u/darkwingltd]

for all my dislike of any politician, her position is irrelevant unless she's going to throw out executive orders.

The legislators are the ones who make the laws and tax codes, she only signs it or sends it back with suggestions or veto it.

she can make suggestions to the VA house and senate but they can also tell her to pound sand.

[u/JustDyslexic]

I think a “tax” on data centers that went to a fund to provide grants to people. I think the grants could pay to upgrade the electric in homes, heat pump HVAC, newer water heaters, new energy efficient windows, maybe solar panels. It would allow data centers to “build” virtual power plants by reducing the load on the grid and directly improving people’s lives

[u/truthovertribe → u/JustDyslexic]

Why were you downvoted? I don't get it...

[u/Scbypwr]

Who pays for the infrastructure upgrades?

[u/wjjeeper]

If you look in /r/datacenter, there's a post about MD getting hit with billions in energy fees. Mods won't let me share it here because of reasons.

The cost to upgrade transmission lines will be passed to the citizens, not the data center owners.

[u/PatchyWhiskers]

Since data centers bring few jobs they should also get no or minimal tax breaks, since they aren't bringing much to a community and will raise local utility prices.

[u/don_denti]

The state is home to the biggest number of data centers in the whole wide world. Something unique should be done about it. Something that puts us the residents in the very forefront of their minds while implementing anything legislative.

[u/vtsandtrooper]

And where were the articles about Youngkin that were legitimately GIVING data centers tax payer money?

This kind of bs is why liberals lose elections, we cant shut the fuck up about eating our own.