ANDOVER TOWNSHIP - Republicans are claiming victory over a proposed data center.

But it really isn't that simple.

As one critical observer noted on a Stop Andover Data Center social media page:

It was the all-Republican township committee that "opened the door (to a data center) in the first place."

This is a local issue to be sure, but a growing national issue at the same time.

Data centers seem to have done something impossible - bridge the divide between left and right. Both sides are wary of them, worried about environmental issues and the growing fear of AI running amok.

That concern, of course, is a rather recent phenomenon.

Which brings us back to the turmoil swirling around this Sussex County town.

The township committee earlier this year adopted an ordinance updating standards for data center development on about 800 acres on Stickles Pond Road near Route 206.

This occurred in the face of strident and boisterous resident opposition.

Shortly after the vote, committee members had a case of buyer's remorse. So, they rescinded the ordinance, a move that allowed the committee to say they were "listening to the will of the people."

The next step in this episode came from National Land Developers LLC of Media, Pa., the developer of the proposed data center. It sued the township seeking to overturn the ordinance.

This soon turned out to be an odd piece of litigation.

The suit was never actually served on the defendants, which would be the township. This is normally a mere formality.

So it looked like the plaintiff wasn't really into this. And that was the case. Last week, lawyers for National Land Developers asked for the suit to be dismissed. And it was.

Committee members were quick to spike the football.
“We are a community that hears our residents,” said Mayor Thomas Walsh in a statement.

As is the norm for this sort of thing, the release included comments by each member of the governing body. Obviously, no one wanted to be left out.

The statement ended with the township thanking residents of Andover Township "for their continued engagement and support throughout this process."

Fair point, but this "engagement" did not stop the relevant ordinance from being adopted in the first place.

Which was the very point made on the stop data center social media page.

Three of the five committee seats are up this year.

Seeking reelection are Walsh and fellow Republican incumbents Roderick Mosner and Suzanne Howell.

Challenging them are Nicole Guerrieri who is running as a Democrat, Cynthia Chase who is running under the slogan, Our Town First, and Kenneth Collins whose slogan is No Data Centers.

Looks like voters will have a chance to judge how sincere the GOP opposition to data centers has been.