Almost 70% of voters in Missouri city vote to recall council member who said yes to AI data center tax breaks — councilor said disagreement over an issue shouldn’t be enough to unseat him
The people of Independence, Missouri, voted to recall councilor John Perkins after he voted to give a Nebius data center tax breaks amounting to more than $6 billion. Perkins said that a single vote should not be enough grounds to overturn an election from two years ago.
In a special election in Independence, Missouri, city council member John Perkins was voted out of office by 68.05% of voters, citing his support for tax breaks for a large data center in the area. Perkins, along with four other councilors, had agreed to approve the nearly $6 billion in tax breaks for the Nebius data center. The decision was made during a March City Council meeting, after community members had been campaigning against the development.
Perkins, however, claims he stands by his decision and believes disagreement with that call should not be enough to unseat him. Despite the overwhelming majority in favor of his removal, voter turnout for this issue was alarmingly low, with only 11.5% of registered voters in Jackson County participating in the election. The pushback against data centers spans across the country, with over 500 bans and moratoriums in various locations, and the opposition appears to be unaligned with political affiliations, making it difficult for technology giants to establish new projects.
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