Joe Ferguson

Thanks for going easy on me. Especially when I was very, very wrong.

I wish I could help but it was hard to hear from where I was sitting.

Here is how #ProjectBlue ends.

With a road of applause from the community.

Romero pivots, says the community needs to have a larger discussion on what they want the #TucsonCouncil to say "yes" to in the future when it comes to a standing ovation.

With Romero's comments, #ProjectBlue is dead at the city.

All that is left is a formal vote - which looks like it will be unanimous.

"This industry is out there," Romero said. Noting that #ProjectBlue might be dead - there will be other proposals and that the Trump administration is pushing "scary" actions that could pre-empt local control.

"It doesn't stop here, folks," Romero said.

Romero said the city must take the reigns on economic development, said the Tucson City Council can no longer rely on outside agencies to bring economic development "opportunities" to Tucson - a jab at the Chamber of Southern Arizona.

I'll add quickly that the city WILL be revamping their entire economic development process.

"This proposal should never made it this far," Santa Cruz said, saying the process makes it look like the Chamber of Commerce was leading the process - not elected officials.

Santa Cruz talks about surveillance, data centers using ICE, broken promises from data centers, and says she data centers are exploitative.

There are now six "no" votes on #ProjectBlue.

Santa Cruz, Lee, Cunningham, Uhlich, Dahl and Perez.

The last to speak will be Mayor Romero.

"Some of these tech bros and what they are doing, are concerning," Cunningham said.

Councilman Paul Cunningham talks about how tech keeps getting smaller, is skeptical that data centers will need as much energy as the projections two decades from now.

Cunningham is also a "no" on #ProjectBlue. Said he doesn't trust that #ProjectBlue wouldn't hurt TEP residential rate payers.

With Lee saying she will vote for Uhlich/Dahl's amendment kill the annexation process, #ProjectBlue at the city of Tucson is likely dead.

Dahl/Uhlich/Perez/Lee have said they will vote "no" on moving forward with #ProjectBlue in the last 15 minutes.

NIkki Lee dips her toes into #SciFI - she swears it is not - talks about putting data centers should be put in space. (No cooling issues, plenty of sunlight for solar panels.)

Said she reached out to @captmarkkelly.bsky.social (Senator and former astronaut) to talk about space data centers.

The city has been struggling with audio for several weeks, I am sorry you are going through that.

For those watching via YouTube, somebody's cell phone appears to be wreaking havoc on the audio. 🤬

Councilwoman Nikki Lee - who sounded the alarm yesterday about Plan B to Project Blue - said #ProjectBlue got off to a rocky start, not having enough information for electeds or the public.

I've got three votes to kill #ProjectBlue. (Uhlich, Perez and Dahl.)

Councilman Rocque Perez said he is aware that there is a Plan B for #ProjectBlue, tells the audience to "pay attention on to what is going to happen next" - hinting Amazon Web Services is going to try and build somewhere else in Tucson.

Dahl seconds a formal motion from Uhlich, opening a discussion on a motion to break ties from #ProjectBlue.

RIght now, Councilwoman Karin Uhlich is pushing for the vote on removing the annexation vote on August 19 - which would end the process of considering #ProjectBlue.

.

Romero pushes to start the #ProjectBlue discussion with the guardrail framework.

I am really, really bad about predictions but since I opened the door with an AMA, my guess there will be a discussion today and any votes take today with not impede the process moving forward to the August 19 Council discussion to START the annexation process.

Romero talks about economic development, water sustainability, the issue that there are data centers in Arizona, and the need for guardrails (zoning and land use codes) when it comes to data centers.

Romero said she is listening to the public, but said it will not be the only thing that will influence her decision.

"I do not govern by social media likes," Romero said.

Mayor Regina Romero said she has had a wide range of conversations about #ProjectBlue, saying she has reached out to other mayors, read a lot about the issue and talked about it with the children.

The room is full and we've heard anecdotally that a small number of people have been turned away, are waiting to get in.

𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗

This is today's live thread covering the #ProjectBlue public meeting here at the city of #Tucson.

For those frequently follow these live posts from the meeting, I am solely focused on #ProjectBlue, I will not be able to cover the entire meeting today.

Well, they will be the ones doing most of the talking.