(PENSACOLA) --- The message of tomorrow's protest, and to county commissioners, is simple: do not allow AI data centers here.
One organizer, Kristy Renee, who has been a leader in this movement, is with If Not Us, the local chapter of the National Indivisible Network.
Renee, a nearly lifelong Pensacola resident, will emcee the protest against data centers tomorrow at Palafox and Garden St. and confront county commissioners at the next board meeting on June 17.
In an interview with OpGov.News, Renee explains her role.
(Photo: Local activist Kristy Renee)
What is If Not Us?
"If Not Us is a community-led movement rooted in Escambia County, uniting people everywhere in the fight for justice, equity, and enduring change through care and political action," Renee said.
Renee explained that the group, formed in 2017, organizes local resistance to federal policy. In Escambia, the focus has turned hyper-local to FloridaWest EDA, which receives $600,000 annually from Escambia's Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) fund and $150,000 from the City of Pensacola to recruit industry.
FloridaWest is considering an AI data center deal under a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). If Not Us says that if sales tax funds the recruiter, residents should decide what gets recruited before land is under contract.
"We are here to work alongside others; not to duplicate efforts, but to reinforce what's working and fill in the gaps," Renee said.
(Photo: If Not Us Facebook)
Renee frames the group's work as a direct response to that gap, citing its mission statement: building local power for a more just, inclusive, and democratic future through education, advocacy, and direct action.
"We empower residents to stand up for justice, equity, and democratic values at every level of government, while holding elected officials accountable to the people they serve," Renee said.
"We also build relationships with existing nonprofits and community-based organizations to ask how we can support their ongoing efforts."
One of those efforts includes promoting a Change.org petition here that has garnered nearly 5K signatures opposing the local data center contract. The local activist points to the convenient timing of the data center proposal, noting, as usual, there is "overdevelopment with no thought to infrastructure."
(Photo: Kristy Renee)
"This county constantly rushes into decisions that have detrimental effects on our residents," Renee said.
As for the NDA, it is a tell.
"It's the same mechanism that is being used across the country to build these data centers in communities," Renee said, adding the issue is not just local. "We hear horror stories coming from locations that now have these data centers that become hot spots with wells literally running dry."
Renee explained that AI chips can get so hot during processing that they can melt without a water-cooling system.
"This water evaporates off and is a strain on the electric grid," Renee said. "It raises the temperature of the immediate surrounding area, and it produces constant noise pollution."
Renee said tomorrow's and the commissioners' meeting are not just a one-off protest.
"This is the immediate focus, but our long-term goal is a statewide constitutional ban on AI data centers," Renee said.
Renee encourages residents to attend tomorrow's protest and the June 17 meeting.
"Action is the antithesis of despair," Renee said.
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