No handouts for Big Tech. Protect our water, land, and power.
While the public was learning that an unnamed corporation had approached Avista seeking up to 500 megawatts of power, local officials had already been meeting privately for more than a year with Apricus Energy Partners, a company proposing to build a massive AI data center on 514 acres on the West Plains. That facility could eventually use up to 1,000 megawatts, nearly Avista's entire regional generating capacity. The documents revealing the West Plains location were uncovered not by a reporter, but by a Spokane County resident who filed a public records request.
The West Plains is a community already dealing with PFAS contamination in 57% of its private wells. Following public pressure, Spokane County enacted a four-month moratorium on data centers. However, this four-month period is simply too short. It suspiciously pushes the issue just beyond the election without providing a long-term solution. Meanwhile, Josh Kerns, Mary Brooks, and Al French have all endorsed Suzanne Schmidt.
The Kootenai County Comparison
We share the same Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer with Kootenai County, yet their approach has been vastly different. They enacted a six-month moratorium and tightened rules, aiming toward banning data centers near the aquifer outright. Spokane County must take this threat equally seriously.
Protecting Our Aquifer
Water is not a business line item. The Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer is the sole source of drinking water for nearly 600,000 people. Once our water resource is contaminated, it cannot simply be restored by reopening business. We must prioritize our most precious natural resource over corporate interests.
The Economic Risk of AI Data Centers
We are witnessing an AI data-center boom reminiscent of 1999, with companies burning billions of dollars without a clear path to profit. There is a massive risk in Spokane County committing its resources to these projects. If the investment thesis fails, our water and power commitments cannot simply be walked back.
"The anger toward these data centers isn't just about water and power—it’s about a complete lack of protection from AI. Our government has let us down, allowing Big Tech to run wild while families absorb the anxiety. As a social worker, I see how this pressure weighs on people. School-age kids feel they have to use AI just to keep up and get into college, while college students feel forced to use it to protect their GPAs and compete. But where is the focus on actual learning? Meanwhile, Gen Z is watching the very jobs they went to school for get swallowed by automation. And for what? So a handful of tech billionaires can get even wealthier? I think they have enough. The frustration is palpable. These data centers have become a physical symbol of how our elected officials have chosen to advocate for Big Tech instead of protecting our children and our communities."
Further Reading & References
- The French Files
- KHQ: The French Files website publishes communications about Spokane-area data centers
- Range Media Article (8/18): Spokane County Four-Month Moratorium Data Center
- Spokesman-Review Article (8/18): Public Pressure Helps Persuade County Leaders to Pause Data Center Applications
- Range Media Article (7/30): Commissioner Al French on Data Centers: Spokane County is Not Closed for Business
- Spokesman-Review Article (8/11): Spokane County Commission Confronted by Data Center Opponents
- Range Media Podcast: Mobilizing for Data Center Pause
Wildfire protection for Spokane County.
Spokane County is grieving, but we are also incredibly proud. We feel immense pride in the response of our first responders, city officials, and county officials who stepped up when our community needed them most. I am eager to work with all of them as we turn our focus toward the future. Together, we must maintain a forward-looking focus on preparing for and facing future wildfire threats to ensure our community remains resilient and protected.
Affordable housing.
Spokane County families are struggling to find housing they can afford. The commissioner controls zoning and oversees housing funds in unincorporated Spokane County. Rachelle will make sure those tools are working for residents and that decisions about land use are made transparently and in the public interest.
An overcrowded jail and an underfunded public defense system.
Spokane County's jail is overcrowded and outdated. The public defense system for people who cannot afford an attorney is underfunded through no fault of the county alone. The state funds only 4% of public defense costs and keeps adding caseload mandates with no money attached. New court-ordered standards will cost Spokane County $15 million more a year. That burden lands on local taxpayers while Olympia walks away.
Rachelle knows how institutions dodge accountability and how to make them answer for it. She will push for honest accounting of what the county owes its residents in basic justice infrastructure and will fight the state to fund the mandates it creates.
The opioid crisis and homelessness.
Spokane County has invested opioid settlement dollars into programs that are showing results. The Regional Stabilization Center has served nearly 7,000 people. Co-responder models are keeping people out of jails and emergency rooms. The P.A.T.H. Center, a $21 million crisis and recovery facility, is under construction. These programs work when they are funded. The problem is the funding is fragile. Federal dollars are uncertain. State support is inconsistent. The commissioner's job is to protect what is working, fight for stable funding, and make sure dollars reach people rather than getting absorbed by administration and process.
Fiscal accountability. Making every dollar work for Spokane County residents.
Spokane County is facing a nearly $30 million deficit. Not because residents are not paying enough. Because the state keeps adding expensive mandates while capping the county's ability to raise revenue. Property tax growth is limited by law to 1% annually. The state funds only 4% of indigent defense costs and then hands the rest to counties. New court-ordered public defense standards will cost Spokane County an additional $15 million a year, with no new state funding attached.
Spokane County residents are already stretched thin. Affordability is a crisis. The answer is not more taxes on families who are already struggling. The answer is accountability. Making sure every dollar already coming in goes where it is supposed to go. Fighting Olympia when it dumps unfunded mandates on county taxpayers. Being honest with residents about what is broken and why.
As Commissioner, Rachelle will push back on state mandates that cost counties millions with no funding attached. She will direct special revenue dollars, opioid settlement funds, mental health sales tax revenue, and housing trust funds, to programs that actually reach people. She will demand honest accounting of where county money goes and whether it is working.
No party sent me. No donor owns me. I will be YOUR county commissioner.
I know how institutions dodge accountability and how to make them answer for it. That is exactly the skill set this race requires.
How to Vote for Rachelle Miller