BAYONNE - Wonder for whom AI would vote.

That silly question acknowledges the fact that perhaps the biggest disagreement at Monday's debate among the city's three mayoral candidates was about a possible data center on New Hook Road.

Data centers in general are not new, but the continuing advancement of AI has made them unpleasant possibilities for many residents.

That's because they need massive amounts of energy and water to operate.

And so the data center was the second debate question for candidates Sharon Ashe Nadrowski, a former council president who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2022, Loyad Booker, a current councilman, and Mary Jane Desmond, the city's business administrator and school board president.

Here's the backstory.

Last year, the city's planning board, where Booker is a member, voted to amend a redevelopment plan covering the site on New Hook Road to allow data centers. That plan was also endorsed by the council.

The twin actions do not mean that a data center was - or is - being approved. They mean that data centers on the site are a permitted use. Any proposed development still would have to go through the normal approval  process.

Public opposition against a possible center has been vocal. So the city council last week adopted two resolutions to put the toothpaste back into the tube - so to speak. One bans data centers in the city and the other authorizes a study to see if the zoning law making them a permitted use could be rescinded.

That's where things stood as the candidates in the May 12 election took questions in a debate sponsored by the Hudson County View, a local news site.

Desmond, the first candidate to get a crack at the issue,  replied, "not today" when asked about data centers in Bayonne. She stressed that the planning board approval was not a development plan.

She also ridiculed the council's resolutions as having no teeth.

Booker said that the detriments of a center "outweigh the positives."

But he voted for the relevant amendment, no?

Yes, but Booker contended that the council did its job and listened to the people. And because of the resolutions, a data center will not happen.

Nadrowski seemed the most direct.

"Not today, not any day will we ever accept a date center in Bayonne," she said, drawing cheers from some of those in the high school auditorium.
Later, she said data centers are now a "permitted use," and the council can not take that back.

In a social media post, Nadrowski elaborated, saying that the master plan permitting data centers needs to be changed.

She added:

"Data centers bring serious environmental, financial, and quality of life concerns for our community. They drive massive energy demand that strains our power grid and raises electric costs. They require millions of gallons of water for cooling, putting pressure on our water supply and increasing bills for residents. These facilities run 24/7, producing constant industrial noise, excess heat, and air pollution from backup generators that impact nearby homes day and night, while higher emissions, increased pollution, heavy water and energy consumption, constant noise and heat output, and added infrastructure demands all contribute to long term sustainability risks that Bayonne should not have to shoulder."

The mayor's seat is open after Jimmy Davis, the former mayor, was elected Hudson County sheriff last fall. Robert Kubert, the interim mayor, is not running.