Box Elder County commissioners who voted for data center project trailing in primary voting

BRIGHAM CITY — The two Box Elder County commissioners on the ballot this cycle who voted for the controversial data center project in the county are trailing their primary challengers, according to unofficial and incomplete returns.

According to preliminary vote totals released at 9:40 p.m. Tuesday, County Commissioner Lee Perry, who holds the seat B post, was trailing challenger Nathan Tueller in the race for the Republican nomination. Tueller had 3,709 votes to 3,256 for Perry, a 53.25%-46.75% split.

Similarly, in the GOP race for the seat A post, challenger Vance Smith had 3,593 votes to 3,355 for incumbent County Commissioner Boyd Bingham, a 51.7%-48.3% split.

More returns were expected to be released later Tuesday night.

Tyler Vincent, the third commissioner, also voted for the Stratos Area Project data center proposal, but he's not on the ballot this cycle.

With the campaign in the homestretch, Perry had said the data center project was on the minds of many voters. Both Perry and Bingham voted in favor of two resolutions on May 4 permitting the data center proposal envisioned by O'Leary Digital and Utah's Military Installation Development Authority to proceed despite the loud opposition of many.

The long-range proposal, which has sparked concern from some worried about its potential environmental impact, calls for a data center in the Hansel Valley area of Box Elder County and development of up to 9 gigawatts of power-producing capacity to serve it.

Both Perry and Bingham defended their votes for the data center plans, saying Box Elder County officials had limited sway in the matter given earlier approvals by Utah's Military Installation Development Authority. The best they could do, they have argued, was insert provisions into the accords protecting the county and establishing guidelines for development.

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