Clayco founder Bob Clark expects Democrats’ election victories to support continued data center development, despite campaigns against the projects and widespread opposition in local votes. The St. Louis County resident and lifelong Democrat argues that the party’s large majorities in both the House and Senate give its leaders an incentive to sustain economic growth, including the infrastructure behind artificial intelligence.
The election results have raised concerns for the industry. Democrats won major victories in places including Texas while campaigning against data centers, and PBS News reported that voters rejected the projects in most local referendums nationwide. Technology stocks fell sharply last week amid fears of tighter regulation and slower construction, although many recovered strongly on Monday.
Clark interprets the outcome differently. He believes narrow Democratic victories might have increased pressure to target data centers, while decisive wins give the party room to support projects it considers economically beneficial. Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned on blocking permits when developments did not offer the state a good deal. Clark expects her to accept projects that do. He also views continued construction as important to national security and American competitiveness.
Still, Clark acknowledges that the recent construction surge damaged public trust. He attributes some opposition to developers’ conduct and the secrecy surrounding proposals, without identifying specific developers or mistakes. Clayco built data centers for years before the AI construction boom with little controversy, he said. He now favors open discussion without nondisclosure agreements and believes Democrats can strengthen accountability while allowing development to continue.
Clayco’s own projects illustrate those transparency concerns. In Festus, its subsidiary CRG met privately with city officials for months before residents learned that a data center was under consideration, despite promises of transparency once the proposal became more public. Clark nevertheless points to the eventual council approval as evidence that discussions can build support. The approved project is six times the scale of the development rejected in St. Charles County.
That earlier proposal, Project Cumulus, was a $1 billion development introduced last year for St. Charles. An arm of Clayco was later identified as the developer and Google as the intended user. The proposal was withdrawn amid widespread resident anger, and St. Charles County adopted one of the country’s first comprehensive data center bans. Clark said the opposition caught the company off guard and blamed a neighboring property owner who financed a campaign against it.
Clark also expressed concern about a proposed license fee for future data centers in St. Louis, put forward by Aldermanic President Megan Green. The city has approved a data center beside The Armory. Despite his concerns, he expects Missouri to benefit from industry growth, citing construction in Montgomery County, Warren and Festus, along with a large proposal for the former steel mill in Alton.
He disputes criticism that the economic benefits largely end when construction crews leave and smaller operating staffs take over. Meeting demand will require more than a decade of building, Clark said, while existing facilities will need continuing upgrades. He cited an older Clayco data center being retrofitted for a different type of chip as an example of work that continues after opening.
Festus also demonstrates the political uncertainty surrounding those expectations. Weeks after the council approved the development, residents voted out every incumbent council member seeking reelection, including one who had opposed it. The project is nevertheless proceeding, even as the election results underscore the resistance developers still face.
