{"id":71947,"date":"2026-06-24T21:45:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T01:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=71947"},"modified":"2026-06-24T21:45:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T01:45:36","slug":"recall-effort-targets-three-fort-meade-city-leaders-after-data-center-approval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/06\/24\/recall-effort-targets-three-fort-meade-city-leaders-after-data-center-approval\/","title":{"rendered":"Recall effort targets three Fort Meade city leaders after data center approval"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The tension in Fort Meade has hit a boiling point. Following the city commission\u2019s controversial approval of a massive $2.6 billion, 4.4-million-square-foot artificial intelligence data center, a grassroots local group called Watchdogs of Fort Meade<\/strong> has officially launched a recall petition to oust three city officials.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a breakdown of who is being targeted and why the community is so divided:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Targets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The recall petitions specifically target the three city leaders who voted in favor of the project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Mayor Jaret Williams<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Vice Mayor Petrina McCutchen<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Commissioner Matthew Taylor<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The Core Conflict<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The Stonebridge hyperscale AI data center project was approved by the commission despite hours of intense public opposition from local residents.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • The City’s Perspective:<\/strong> Proponents point to the financial windfall. The developer promised a $10 million immediate infrastructure investment, and estimates suggest the city could eventually see massive annual revenue increases. For a small, cash-strapped municipality, leaders argued this revenue could fund heavily needed local upgrades.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • The Residents’ Perspective:<\/strong> Residents argue the 1,300-acre project will completely destroy Fort Meade’s rural charm. Major concerns include light pollution, constant low-frequency noise from cooling fans, heavy traffic, and an immense strain on resources. The facility is expected to consume vast amounts of energy and up to 50,000 gallons of water per day, raising fears about the safety of the local aquifer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Why the Petitions Don’t Mention the Data Center<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Interestingly, while the data center is the clear catalyst for the outrage, Florida recall laws are very strict regarding legal grounds for removing an elected official.<\/sup> Because of this, the official petitions do not explicitly cite the data center vote. Instead, they level separate allegations against the three leaders, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Mismanagement of public funds<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Improper selection of legal counsel<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Malfeasance and conflicts of interest<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Commissioner Matthew Taylor has publicly defended his vote, dismissing the recall allegations as inaccurate and arguing that supporting domestic AI infrastructure is a patriotic necessity to keep America ahead of global adversaries.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        What Happens Next?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        The clock is ticking for the organizers. Under Florida law, they have a strict 30 days<\/strong> to collect at least 300 valid signatures<\/strong> from registered Fort Meade voters.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        If they meet that threshold, the petitions will be submitted to the Polk County Supervisor of Elections to verify the signatures, which is the first formal step toward triggering a recall election.<\/sup> Meanwhile, the data center itself faces separate hurdles, including a recent roadblock from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) requiring a brand-new public permitting process for its water infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        The tension in Fort Meade has hit a boiling point. Following the city commission\u2019s controversial approval of a massive $2.6 billion, 4.4-million-square-foot artificial intelligence data center, a grassroots local group… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":71951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":71799,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDZcL0dlbWluaV9HZW5lcmF0ZWRfSW1hZ2VfMjkzNmYxMjkzNmYxMjkzNi53ZWJwP2ZpdD0xMDI0JTJDNTU5JnNzbD0xIiwidHh0IjoiUmVjYWxsIGVmZm9ydCB0YXJnZXRzIHRocmVlIEZvcnQgTWVhZGUgY2l0eSBsZWFkZXJzIGFmdGVyIGRhdGEgY2VudGVyIGFwcHJvdmFsIiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJkb2lzIiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjE2MzA0MDY2MX0.eobK9h53J4kW1vUxElemtV5Rf4xDKqnRHnszJeYIgzwMQ"},"version":2,"media_source":"sig","attached_media":[{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/jetpack.com\/redirect\/?source=sigenerate&query=t%3DeyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDZcL0dlbWluaV9HZW5lcmF0ZWRfSW1hZ2VfMjkzNmYxMjkzNmYxMjkzNi53ZWJwP2ZpdD0xMDI0JTJDNTU5JnNzbD0xIiwidHh0IjoiUmVjYWxsIGVmZm9ydCB0YXJnZXRzIHRocmVlIEZvcnQgTWVhZGUgY2l0eSBsZWFkZXJzIGFmdGVyIGRhdGEgY2VudGVyIGFwcHJvdmFsIiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJkb2lzIiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjE2MzA0MDY2MX0.eobK9h53J4kW1vUxElemtV5Rf4xDKqnRHnszJeYIgzwMQ","type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[15007],"class_list":["post-71947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-recall-effort-targets-three-fort-meade-city-leaders-after-data-center-approval"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71947"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71952,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71947\/revisions\/71952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}