By Stephen Lemons | Phoenix New Times
It felt like a visit from your friendly neighborhood cartel kingpin. Or in this case, an ex-senator.
It was Oct. 16 and Kyrsten Sinema — the reviled former Democrat and former lawmaker — was standing at a podium in a much less august chamber than the one she used to haunt. Speaking to the Chandler City Council about a data center project awaiting the body’s approval, she adopted a friendly yet menacing tone.
Sinema told the council that she was representing something called the “AI Infrastructure Coalition,” a fuzzily defined group that includes giants like Meta, Google and ExxonMobil as members. In a three-minute spiel, the ex-senator touted the coming “AI revolution” and talked of working in concert with the Trump administration, which has made AI and the data centers that power the technology a matter of national security.
She added a warning: If the councilmembers didn’t get with the program and vote yes on a proposed 422,877-square-foot data center to be located at Dobson and Price roads, President Trump would cram the data center down Chandler’s collective neck.
