Secret NDAs and utility industry conflicts of interest in local government. If officials can't serve the public transparency, we document it.
Mayor Tim Davis stated at a Rowan Digital Infrastructure open house that he "wasn't allowed to disclose information due to his NDA." He retracted that statement at a city council meeting, claiming he had no NDA with Rowan. The City Attorney later clarified that while the Mayor didn't sign an NDA with Meta, the City of Temple did. An eyewitness claims they were present when Davis personally signed paperwork. In response to an open records request, the City said they cannot find the NDA — despite both the Mayor and City Attorney confirming it exists. The Texas Attorney General ordered the City to release the records. Over 150 days later, the records remain withheld. Temple already has 4 data centers; this Rowan deal would be the 5th, in a city facing documented drought with residents concerned about the water table. Citizens launched a recall effort against Davis, Mayor Pro Tem Jessica Walker, and Council Member Mike Pilkington.
Caroline County Board of Supervisors member Floyd Thomas signed an NDA with REC (Rappahannock Electric Cooperative) at the same meeting where he voted to set the data center tax rate at $1.25 per $100 of assessed value. The NDA terms were never disclosed to the public. Constituents were not informed that their representative had a secret agreement with the utility before the vote took place. No accountability action has been taken.
R.E. "Bobby" Cox Jr. is simultaneously Chairman of the Prince George County Board of Supervisors AND an employee of Dominion Energy Virginia (B U Safety Consultant, Glen Allen). He votes on matters directly affecting his employer's regulated service territory, transmission projects, and data center developments in Prince George County. No disclosed recusal. No conflict-of-interest disclosure found in public record. VERDICT: CONFIRMED CONFLICT OF INTEREST — Employer is regulated utility with active projects in county. This is the textbook utility-employee-on-local-board conflict. County planning commission records indicate additional Dominion Energy employees may serve on local boards in the region — additional submissions are needed to map this pattern statewide. Official county contact: rcox@princegeorgecountyva.gov | (804) 895-2224. Elected District 1 Supervisor, then elected BOS Chair in 2026.
A coordinated network of county officials, a data-center developer, and a Dominion Energy insider pushing transmission-corridor data center projects across the Richmond region.