The following opinion submission was authored by Bayly Winder, a Democratic candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s 2nd District, and provided exclusively to Vineland Today.
“If the Vineland Data Center isn’t the perfect example of big corporations rigging the system in their favor over our residents, I don’t know what is?
For months, Vineland residents have been fighting to make their voices heard and have received nothing but radio silence and run around from their elected officials. Hearing these stories, I decided to join a city council meeting myself to aid residents in getting the answers they deserve. What I got was Paul Spinelli, the city council president, threatening to hit me with a frivolous lawsuit for slander that he knew he couldn’t win just to silence me.
There are plenty of reasons why residents are skeptical of the new data center. They consume the same amount of power as a small city, pollute our local water sources that farmers rely on, and put out enough noise that people have compared it to living next to a live rock concert.
I and other community members launched a petition calling on Governor Sherrill to establish safeguards to protect Vineland and communities across New Jersey. Those measures should include common sense policies like independent environment and resource reviews; protections for ratepayers and taxpayers from higher electricity costs; full transparency and public input around approvals, incentives, and financing; and clear statewide guardrails for large data center developments. It shouldn’t take a petition from residents to get the attention of the people that work for them.
This is exactly why I’m running. Money in politics has gotten out of control at every level of government. I saw it firsthand when Elon Musk and his DOGE goons marched into USAID, where I worked, and unlawfully gutted life-saving programs. And I’m seeing it right here in South Jersey. Congressman Van Drew championed this data center while taking money from the CEO of one of the non-union construction companies involved. How can we trust a representative who lets his conflicts of interest override the concerns of his own voters?
I’m running for Congress because South Jersey deserves someone who shows up for them. Not for corporate donors. Not for special interests. For you. When you raise your voice, I’ll be there raising mine. That’s my promise, and I intend to keep it.”
NEW: Ron Filan, Congressman Jeff Van Drew’s Campaign Manager and Director of Political Affairs has authored a response to this opinion.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Vineland Today is an independent news publication committed to fair, accurate, and impartial reporting. From time to time, we publish opinion submissions from political candidates and other members of the public in order to facilitate civic discourse. The views expressed in such submissions are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of Vineland Today, its ownership, editorial staff, or affiliates. Publication of any submission does not constitute endorsement, approval, or verification of the content.