Organiser behind Monterey Park's datacenter ban runs for city council

single source· 1 articles · confidence: low · first seen 2026-09-15 10:00 UTC

What this means for you

Nothing to build on. The one operational point is siting: a datacenter needs local permits, and this example shows opposition can move from planning meetings to the ballot. If you are picking US sites, the piece offers no data on how often that happens, and names no other city.

The Guardian reports that Steven Kung, an organiser in Monterey Park, east of Los Angeles, is running for city council after helping his city become the first in the US to ban datacenter construction. The campaign followed four months of teach-ins and canvassing, and he is challenging an incumbent who supported the planned facility. The article describes this as one instance of a wider pattern — anti-datacenter organisers across the US turning community opposition into local election campaigns. It does not say when the vote is held, how many such candidates are running, or how that wider pattern is counted.

Key facts

  • ·Monterey Park, east of Los Angeles, became the first US city to ban datacenter construction, according to the report. source
  • ·Steven Kung, who helped organise that campaign, is running for Monterey Park city council. source
  • ·The organising effort ran for four months and included teach-ins and canvassing. source
  • ·Kung is challenging an incumbent who supported development of the datacenter facility. source
  • ·The article was published on 15 September 2026 and gives no date for the council election. source

What the sources say

  • The Guardian AI — Profiles one organiser who turned opposition to a nearby facility into a council candidacy.

Sources

The original reporting. Follow these — they did the work.

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