A small-town Indiana mayor is facing backlash after a video caught him on tape suggesting that people in his city who oppose data centers are renters who live in pitiful houses.
Shelbyville Mayor Scott Furgeson said on the half-minute video posted on social media that he had mainly seen anti-data center signs in front of houses that he described as “shitty,” run-down, dilapidated properties. Plus, he added in the clip, he believed many of those homes were rental properties.
The mayor’s comments illuminated tension in the town over a months-long debate over whether to annex hundreds of acres in Shelby County for a hyperscale data center.
In the 24 hours since a Shelbyville resident posted the video on Facebook, the reel has garnered more than 30,000 views and hundreds of comments.
Furgeson on June 4 clarified his comments, saying he did not intend to speak about the quality of people living in houses around town. Rather, his spokesperson told the IndyStar, Furgeson was describing maintenance issues at several properties he had seen.
“The mayor regrets that his choice of words may have caused offense. His comments were intended to reference property maintenance and not the character, value, or importance of any resident, homeowner, or renter in our community,” Furgeson’s spokesperson Jenna Martin said in a statement. Furgeson was not available for an interview on June 4.
Dozens of people have publicly called for the mayor to resign, and at least one social media campaign has launched to call on city council members to take steps to remove Furgeson from office. IndyStar attempted to reach all seven of the councilors, but none responded to IndyStar’s emails.
One resident, Bryan Bond, 47, who supports the campaign to oust Furgeson, said he was dumbfounded but not shocked by Furgeson’s comments based on his previous attitude and demeanor. He added he would also like to see the city council replaced because of a lack of transparency surrounding the data center.
“What gets me the most about what he [Furgeson] said is that we don’t have million-dollar homes, but it’s a million dollars to me and my family,” Bond said.
Twenty-five-year-old Abby Dunn, who displays a sign outside the rental home where she lives, said she was taken aback by Furgeson’s comments.
“The mood has shifted. People are very, very upset,” said Dunn, who has lived in Shelbyville for 12 years. “When things like this happen, when everyone collectively disagrees it is very rare. When everyone mutually agrees, it’s like people in the country with pitchforks but with signs in yards.”
Furgeson, who was elected in 2023 to serve the city of about 20,000 residents about an hour southeast of Indianapolis, said through a spokesperson that resigning is not on the table.
Several Shelbyville residents say opposition to the data center spans social class, income level and political party.
Dunn said she personally does not want to see anyone out of a job but added that someone less dismissive is likely better suited for the city’s top elected post.
The day after the video posted, Dunn ordered a new yard sign reading “Just another shitty house against a data center.”
What Shelbyville mayor said in the video
The video was filmed June 1 inside Cagney’s Pizza King, a restaurant that Furgeson owns in the heart of town, following a testy Common Council meeting in Shelbyville earlier that night. Furgeson was celebrating his birthday with family and friends.
A group of diners, at least one of whom was at the council meeting, called him over to give him a piece of paper folded up to resemble a birthday card, Martin said. Once he opened it up, he saw the data center message.
The 33-second video begins with Furgeson holding and reading a sign that says, “Shelbyville says NO Data Center.”
“I’ve seen a lot of these all over town, but I only see them in shitty houses,” Furgeson says while holding the sign at chest level in front of a table of diners. “Most of them are rentals so…,” he trails off.
Furgeson leans in to listen as a woman can be heard saying “It doesn’t matter whether they are renters or not. They are still human beings.”
He responds: “I know, but they’re in unkept properties which you think they would want kept properties, but I don’t know.”
Furgeson starts to walk away and the video ends.
IndyStar identified the person who recorded the video and verified its contents. Martin also confirmed the validity of the exchange to IndyStar, noting that Furgeson did not know he was being recorded.
Thousands of residents oppose data center annex
In April, the Shelbyville City Council voted to allow Prologis to build a data center on more than 400 acres near I-74 and State Road 44. The developer said it will employ up to 450 full-time workers to work across about a dozen buildings.
More than 7,000 people have signed an online petition to halt the annexation of 429 acres on the east side of the city. Thirteen neighbors filed a lawsuit in May asking the courts to review the land-use decision, halting the data center’s progress for now.
Markita Shepherdson, one of the plaintiffs, said she has four or five yard signs displayed on her property across the street from the proposed site.
“Pretty much the whole county is against it,” Shepherdson, 62, said.
Bond, who lives less than two miles from the proposed site, said he doesn’t want to stop development in the area, but thinks development must be smart, given that it’s one of the last chances for Shelbyville to expand.
What does Bond actually want to see? “Development that provides actual jobs,” he said.
Alysa Guffey writes business and development stories for IndyStar. Contact her at alysa.guffey@indystar.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Shelbyville mayor links run-down rentals to data center opponents
Reporting by Alysa Guffey, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alysa Guffey, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
