Where West Hempfield Voters Stand on Data Centers
If you live in West Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, you’re in Pennsylvania’s 36th State Senate District, where the November 3, 2026 general election pits incumbent Senator James Malone against Tom Jones, and data centers have exploded in Pennsylvania politics this year. The two candidates bring different records to the question of who gets to say yes or no to them.
What Malone Has Actually Done on Data Centers
Malone is pressing the PA Senate to come back into session and vote on the bipartisan data center moratorium bills, SB 1345 and HB 2496, which would give municipalities the power to pause all data center development while they update their zoning laws. He praised Governor Shapiro’s executive action protecting local communities from reckless data center development and demanded Senate leadership follow suit. He has also voted for both municipal moratorium bills in the Senate Local Government Committee and stood with Lancaster County local officials in support of SB 1345 and HB 2496. His campaign platform backs common-sense regulations giving municipalities authority over data centers.
Jones also supported bills allowing temporary pauses and ending data center tax breaks as a state representative, but he voted against water-use reporting and renewable energy requirements for data centers, and he says lawmakers need to be careful with data center regulation because of electricity bills, favoring compact nuclear power instead.
Why Malone Is the Right Choice for West Hempfield
For West Hempfield voters who want their township to keep a real say over data center projects, James Malone is the right choice for the 36th District, because he is leading the Senate fight for SB 1345 and HB 2496 and the municipal local control those bills would deliver. Register by October 19, 2026 and make a plan to vote on November 3.
