The Real Story – A Column
Good Sunday Evening to all! We are all very busy, but very important elections are at hand. The Voter Guides and your ballots have been sent out, and we hope you are reviewing them carefully. The Data Center Moratorium called for on April 7th by candidates for local office, including Kipperlyn Sinclair, Myrna Munoz, and Dr. Tammy Carpenter, has sparked a political firestorm of nasty campaign tricks from their opponents. From confusing phone calls telling voters that these same candidates are Socialists to fake handwritten letters sent by an autopen, these three powerful candidates have scared the power elite into desperate measures.
Senator Janeen Sollman is trying to get past last year’s failed Senate Bill 1586, which she sponsored, to open 1,700 acres of prime farmland to AI Factories and Data Centers. She was joined by sitting Hillsboro Mayor Beach Pace, County Commissioner Pam Treece, and a host of others in Salem, where a unified front of supporters and a full-court press were mounted to pass that bill; fear-mongering included claims that Oregon was in financial trouble and that this was the key to our future. Then, after Sinclair/Munoz/Carpenter laid down the gauntlet of a Data Center Moratorium in Washington County, these same promoters and their ilk have tried to hide their tracks, with some claiming they deserve credit for the call for a moratorium. The whole thing has become downright disgusting. But hey, that is politics, I guess.
Tammy Carpenter posted on her campaign Instagram on April 23rd that the proactive trio was on KGW and would be featured in a news story about their Moratorium, which has thousands of supporters signed on to the petition. But something strange happened. The story, which was heralded as a great news piece, was killed. Someone apparently got wind of it, probably scared about its airing, and killed it. Dead! So who has that power? Hmmm….. was it a seated State Senator? No, it can’t be. Maybe those tech bros or the private equity firms who have taken over our power grids and Data Centers? Maybe both- but the money and influence to keep these concrete monsters humming and going up is flowing like honeywine! Killing this story certainly would be done to keep our voters from hearing from these people-centered candidates.
Well, someone did, and the Hillsboro Herald is trying to find out! Check out the Instagram post by Carpenter on April 23rd and today’s post below it from Portland City Councilor Angelita Morrillo- she laid it all out for us, so we let her words be your guide. Watch and learn, people. This is all part of a grand scheme to limit who gets to hear and see the truth. That is a fact for sure.
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Here is a press release we received after we went to press:
Canceled KGW Interview Highlights Rising Tensions Around Washington County
Data Center DebateUnderstanding the Data Center Moratorium
HILLSBORO, OR- Just days after ballots were mailed to Washington County voters, a scheduled interview featuring three local candidates discussing the expansion of data centers has been canceled by a regional news network following a legal concern raised by an opposing campaign.
Last week, Kipperlyn Sinclair (Candidate, Washington County Commissioner District 4), Myrna Muñoz (Candidate, State Senate District 15), and Tammy Carpenter (Candidate, State House District 27) were invited by KGW to participate in an interview on the network’s public affairs program, Straight Talk. The conversation was intended to focus on the rapid growth of data centers in Washington County and the candidates’ shared call for a temporary moratorium and review of related tax abatements.
The segment was scheduled to air this Thursday and Saturday. However, after the candidates shared a behind-the-scenes photo on social media, the network received a concern regarding the FCC’s “Equal Opportunities” rule. Following that communication, the network made the decision to pull the segment.
The FCC’s Equal Opportunities rule includes exemptions for bona fide news interview programs such as Straight Talk. While interpretations can vary, the campaigns believe this situation highlights the challenges media organizations face when navigating election-related concerns in real time.
“Our goal was simply to have a thoughtful, fact-based conversation with voters about issues that directly impact Washington County,” said Kipperlyn Sinclair. “Access to clear, accessible information matters, especially when it comes to decisions about land use, infrastructure, and public resources.”
The three campaigns have been working collaboratively to raise awareness about the pace and scale of data center development, and to encourage broader public discussion about long-term impacts on energy use, water resources, and local economic outcomes.
“We respect the role of local media and the complexity of election regulations,” said Myrna Muñoz and Tammy Carpenter in a joint statement. “At the same time, we remain committed to making sure voters have the opportunity to hear directly from candidates about the issues shaping their communities.”
Given the level of community engagement and the broader implications of data center expansion, the campaigns believe this issue warrants continued public conversation and media attention. The candidates will continue engaging voters through community events, digital forums, and grassroots outreach efforts across Washington County.
Ballots for the May 19th primary election must be postmarked or returned to an official drop box by 8:00 PM on Election Day.
About the Candidates:
• Kipperlyn Sinclair is a Hillsboro City Councilor and small business owner running for Washington County Commissioner, District 4.
• Myrna Muñoz is a community advocate running for Oregon State Senate, District 15.
• Tammy Carpenter is a community leader running for Oregon State House, District 27.
Intel’s (INTC) Big AI Breakthrough Began in Hillsboro, Oregon — The Hillsboro Gambit II
The purpose of the Equal Time provision isn’t to silence opposing sides, but give them both the opportunity to speak. That a campaign “raised a legal issue” here instead of demanding its equal, free air time is bizarre.
Most brands would kill for “earned media”—the kind of media coverage that is dropped in your lap that doesn’t require a payment or an investment in an event. This data-center discussion provided it not only for the Sinclair/Munoz/Carpenter/”Friends of Smart Growth” ticket, but for their opponents as well. Now, by forcing KGW to pull the piece citing “Equal Time” precedent, the opposition once again pledges its undying love for The Streisand Effect by making trying to cover something up and only drawing more attention to it. Their teams learned absolutely nothing from SB 4 and SB 1586 and just continues to do the Clinton thumb into the camera, say “let me be clear” before speaking a half truth, and shove an embarrassing development into a backroom once it’s already seen the light of day.
It’s genuinely uncomfortable to watch the incumbents commit one unforced error after the next.
We will never know who really pressured the news channel but you are spot on. They should have demanded to have their opportunity as well. The Fairness Doctrine has been dead since 1987 according to my research. Thhere is an equal time rule that could apply which would have allowed an opponent to ask for an equal time to speak on the issue. The Equal Time rule has four major exemptions:
Bona fide newscasts
Bona fide news interviews
Bona fide news documentaries
On-the-spot coverage of news events
If the incumbents complained, they likely argued that the segment wasn’t a “Bona Fide News Interview” (which would be exempt), but rather a “produced segment” or a “feature” that was “motivated by partisan purposes.” Recent FCC guidance (as of early 2026) has emphasized that stations must comply with Equal Opportunities if a program is “designed for the specific advantage of a candidate.” Either way. while it would be greta to know why the story was killed I am guessing we will not find out. That does not mean we will not try.
Thanks Mr. Dirksen for alerting us to this! It is interesting that KGW was taken over by Nexstar and within months a panel of progressive candidates gets pulled from being aired. Why is no one talking about how ALL of our local tv news is now owned by conservative companies and how that is affecting the news that we now see? The change in programming at KGW has been quite obvious over the last few months.
I agree – we can all see where this is going. Buy up all of the news media, destroy anyone with an independent voice, and allow no gree thought. Scary isn’t it?
Outrageous but not surprising that the Connivers of Hillsboro (COH) scuttled the KGW program with the candidates initiating a petition for a moratorium on data centers in Hillsboro.
The KGW phone number is 503-226-5000.
I just called the KGW Newsroom and the Investigative team with Kyle Iboshi, to express my outrage that the station pulled the interview of the 3 candidates to discuss Data Farms and the impacts on all of us.
Since I don’t use social media, will you please tell everyone you know to call KGW at 503-226-5000 and tell them what you think about the COH scuttling the scheduled interview? Outrageous!
Also, if you can, please join me in attending the City of Hillsboro’s bi-weekly city council meeting TONIGHT at 7:00 and tell them what you think of their unjustified actions, especially if you oppose building more data centers. And call KGW at 503-227-5000 to ask “why.”
Thanks, Denise. City Council is tomorrow I believe- Tuesday Night!
Oh dear! Yes, the COH council meeting is TUESDAY, MAY 5 at 7:00 at city hall, on the corner of 1st Ave. and Main. I’m in such disbelief that I want to give them my 2 cents NOW. Thanks a ton Dirk.
The KGW phone number is 503-226-5000, not 503-227-xxxx. I goofed one number.
Thank you. I just called KGW and gave them an earful. This is information that needs to get out because it’s a community health hazard. Our elected Hillsboro leaders have sold out to big tech at the cost of our environment and the health of their constituents. The opponents could have requested equal time to try and sell their “jobs act” but apparently they have no convincing argument so they played dirty politics. These are not leaders we need or want. Mainstream Journalism used to expose corrupt politicians, now it seems they protect them.
Barbara,
I think we all see it. There are two types of folks anymore in office. Those slurping at the Corporate feed trough, and those who are politically who they say they are and want this Corporate Tech-Bro drive onsalught stopped. There are AI and Big tech/Data Centers apologists who have sold out for the potential long term revenues to our local coiffures, and those who are with the people. Those trying to pretend they do not want them and will support a Moratorium, while meeting with land owners privately for MORE, and those who want them stopped and or taxed if they want to rake us all over the coals. There is ni middle ground anymore.