Lawsuit says Frederick data center pause was timed to election

Data centers are no longer just a development debate in Frederick County. They are now an election issue, with voters already weighing in during the June primary and a new lawsuit raising questions about whether politics influenced County Executive Jessica Fitzwater’s decisions.

The political allegations are at the center of a lawsuit filed by Quantum Maryland, a data center developer that accuses Fitzwater of unlawfully freezing development after the June primary to improve her reelection prospects.

Fitzwater disputes the allegations, accusing the developer of trying to intimidate her as she works to protect county residents.

For Frederick County farmer Steve Black, who has spent more than two decades growing trees near Adamstown, the growing controversy has become a defining issue in local politics.

“We’re to a point where the debate is going on out in public with elected officials having their elected seats on the line at this point,” Black told FOX45 News.

Black has been outspoken about the potential impacts of data centers on surrounding communities, including concerns about electricity costs, water consumption and the loss of agricultural land. He said those concerns are increasingly influencing local elections.

“In November, while the people may not get to vote on a referendum issue, the referendum topic is on the ballot,” Black said.

In June, Frederick County voters rejected several candidates associated with support for data center expansion, including County Council President Brad Young, who lost his Democratic primary.

“The candidates who came out early in favor of sane and prudent rules and process for data center development, they won,” Black said.

Those election results now sit at the center of the allegations in Quantum Maryland’s lawsuit.

According to the complaint, Fitzwater’s administration became concerned about the political fallout from the primary.S

In a sworn affidavit, a company executive describes a June 29 conversation with Fitzwater’s chief of staff about the election results.

The lawsuit alleges county staff privately described a planned moratorium on new data center applications as a way to get “past the election.”

The complaint also highlights Fitzwater’s earlier comments on the role politics should play in data center decisions.

According to the filing, Fitzwater previously warned that adding political decision-making to the approval process would not provide the certainty residents or developers deserve.

The political allegations center on a series of decisions made in the months following the June primary.

On June 30, the Supreme Court of Maryland, the state’s highest court, ruled that Frederick County could not put its data center zoning ordinance to a referendum.

The following day, Fitzwater signed an executive order freezing new data center applications.

Then, on Sept. 1, she announced a proposed community benefits agreement with Quantum worth more than $110 million.

Thirteen days later, Fitzwater rejected that agreement and extended the moratorium through July 2027.

The lawsuit alleges the reversal followed unfavorable political polling and claims Fitzwater told a campaign donor she needed to reject the agreement to win reelection.

Those allegations have not been independently established.

But the developer also points to Fitzwater’s comments acknowledging the political message from the June primary.

In a September interview with the Frederick News-Post, Fitzwater reportedly explained the decision to stop accepting new data center applications by saying, “The writing is on the wall from the primary.”

The developer argues the moratorium was tracking the election calendar rather than a legitimate administrative need.

Fitzwater has maintained the pause is intended to address community concerns and allow additional review of data center impacts.

In a statement posted to her campaign Facebook page, Fitzwater rejected the lawsuit’s accusations, calling the complaint full of factual errors and lies.

“Data centers and the billionaires behind them think they can buy special treatment and use their money to silence anyone who disagrees with them,” Fitzwater wrote.

“They can’t stand that I’m using my authority as your County Executive to protect our community. I refuse to be bullied.”

The developer, meanwhile, argues Fitzwater exceeded her authority because the Frederick County Council, not the county executive, controls zoning decisions.

In a statement, Quantum Maryland accused Fitzwater of abruptly halting the county’s established development process through unlawful moratoriums.

The company claims the county’s actions derailed a transaction worth more than $500 million, an allegation not established in court.

For residents like Black, the lawsuit is only one part of a much larger political debate over Frederick County’s future.

“We’ve seen politicians who are looking at elections and looking at very angry constituencies take steps to try to address the public’s questions,” Black said.

Black argues elected officials need to address residents’ concerns before allowing additional development, particularly when it comes to the long-term impacts on surrounding communities.

Have a news tip? Contact Mikenzie Frost at mbfrost@sbgtv.com .