https://petelynchforkentucky.com/

Pete Lynch For Kentucky, 210 E High Street Suite 1630, Lexington, KY (2026)

08/28/2026

How Governor Andy Beshear is failing Kentucky on the issue of AI data centers:

AI data center projects started appearing all over the state of Kentucky this year because of HB 775, a bill that our Republican-dominated state legislature passed last year.

Andy Beshear is now asking the General Assembly to repeal HB 775 when they return to regular session next January. That's not nearly enough. Not when he has the power to bring the state legislature into session well before then.

Beshear has the sole authority under Section 80 of the Kentucky Constitution to call for a special legislative session. He can demand that they convene for a special legislative session to repeal the data center development tax breaks in HB 775--a bill that grants massive tax cuts to AI data center developers--and pass a moratorium on AI data center development. That's exactly what he should do.

Andy Beshear's recent executive order and his decision to urge the General Assembly to repeal the tax cuts--rather that just using his power as Governor to make them convene--don't come close to making up for the fact that he's been on the wrong side of the AI data center issue for over a year. After all, he actively worked to help AI data center developers by bringing in an Irish company to build AI data center parts 10 miles away from the Cave City proposal, right next to Mammoth Cave National Park.

It seems like Beshear is starting to read the room now. He, like Governor Shapiro up in Pennsylvania, is starting to realize that the work he's done to welcome AI data center development into his own state may prove disastrous to his presidential ambitions.

Although Beshear has been on the wrong side of this issue for over a year, he can still redeem himself here. But the only way he can do that is by leading from the front and calling for a special legislative session to end the tax cuts for AI data center developers and pass a moratorium on AI data center development.

08/28/2026

Flock cameras need to be kicked out of Lexington and Kentucky.

Yesterday, I spoke out against Flock cameras at the County Council meeting in Lexington. Our Flock program started here as a free pilot “study” in early 2022. Our mayor Linda Gorton and chief of police both advocated for it, and it passed by a unanimous vote in the County Council. The County Council voted to expand the program later that same year and to extend it more permanently starting in 2024.

By my count, all eight of the current council members who had a chance to vote against Flock in 2024 voted in favor of paying our tax dollars to Flock so that Flock can spy on us for corporations and the government.

It’s time to put the Flock program to an end.

Lexingtonians, you should consider emailing your council member to let them know you don’t want to spend our tax money on a contract with a Peter Theil-backed surveillance company. Their email addresses can be found here:

https://www.lexingtonky.gov/government/office-urban-county-council/councilmembers

In addition to ending the Flock program, our county council should also pass a law making it illegal for law enforcement to access information from corporations without a warrant.

I plan to organize a candidate forum on Flock cameras and AI data centers here in Lexington. The goal is to give candidates running for office at the local, state, and federal levels the opportunity to let voters know where they stand on these important policy issues.

If you are part of an organization that might be interested in hosting the event, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. You can find my email addresses at the campaign website: PeteLynchForKentucky.com.

08/27/2026

I'm speaking out against AI data centers and Flock cameras at tonight's County Council meeting in Lexington, KY.

The county council meeting starts at 6pm, and members of the public will be able to speak. My understanding is that people can sign up to speak starting at 5:30.

It's important that members of the community show up to let the County Council know that the ordinance they're considering does not go far enough to protect the public.

Their ordinance doesn't force AI data centers to pre-pay the costs of their upgrades and it allows AI data centers of up to 25 MW--the same amount of power needed to provide energy for about 20K homes. Under the current version of that ordinance, ratepayers will foot the bill. And instead of preventing AI data centers from using any water for cooling, this ordinance would require all AI data centers to use closed-loop cooling systems. These closed-loop systems use less water, but create their own major risks. Obviously, this is not acceptable.

I'll be calling on the County Council to extend the short-term moratorium on AI data center development, which is set to expire in October.

At the County Council meeting, I'm also going to discuss the proliferation of Flock cameras in Lexington. A pilot program began in 2022 without proper oversight, and our County Council has voted to expand it twice--first in 2022, and then again in 2024. The current contract with Flock means that we're paying almost $2 million over 5 years for the luxury of letting Flock facilitate government and corporate espionage. Obviously, this is not acceptable.

I'll be calling on the County Council to cancel the remainder of the contract with Flock and spend the money on things people actually want. I'll also tell them they need to pass a law requiring that surveillance tools used by the government must to be approved by the council after open public hearings. Finally, I'll tell the County Council that they need to ban law enforcement from accessing information from corporations without a warrant.

The people of Lexington are generally against AI data center development and Flock cameras. But Lexington isn't alone. Communities all around the state and country are facing both of these issues. And, unfortunately for voters, politicians at all three levels of government are largely ignoring their voters.

I'm trying to pressure local leaders all around KY-6 to step up to the plate and say what what their views are when it comes to AI data centers and Flock cameras.

To that end, I'm helping organize candidate forums on AI data centers in communities around KY-6. I've already organized a candidate forum on AI data centers in Harrodsburg on August 2. And there are now at least two additional candidate forums on AI data centers in the works.

The first will be in Wi******er, KY on Wednesday, September 16. This event will go from 6-8pm.

The second will be in Richmond, KY on Sunday, October 18. This event will be from 1-4:30pm.

I'll post more about both of these events as they approach.

If you live in KY-6 and would like to help organize a candidate forum on AI data centers, Flock cameras, or both, please don't hesitate to reach out to my campaign by email. Our email addresses can be found at PeteLynchForKentucky.com

08/26/2026

My Republican and Democratic opponents in KY-6 can’t be taken seriously on foreign policy, and Israel in particular.

Ralph Alvarado is an Israel First candidate funded by AIPAC, while Zach Dembo can’t acknowledge what everyone can see: Israel is committing genocide.

We need to cut all funding for Israel because $0 is how much we should give to countries that are committing genocide.

We also need to require all members of the Israel lobby to register as agents under the FARA.

And, as voters, we need to reject all candidates who are funded by AIPAC and the Israel lobby.

08/25/2026

Here goes AIPAC Alvarado, my Republican opponent in KY-6. As I’ve said before, he’s even worse than Dembo (the genocide-denying Democrat).

In this debate from the primary election, he brought up key AIPAC talking points. As usual.

One thing AIPAC wants is for Americans to be afraid of Iran. If you noticed, AIPAC Alvarado didn't even answer the question he was asked right away. Instead, he decided to start by reminding people of the Iran hostage crisis. Obviously, the goal was to make voters scared of Iran. He left out some important details, though.

First, the Iranian students took hostages from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in part because they believed the compound was serving as a center for espionage.

Second, they were right: it was. Several of the hostages worked undercover for the CIA.

And third, even though the students caught undercover CIA operatives and held them hostage, no hostages were killed.

I can’t imagine being more concerned about the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, which included 0 dead hostages, than with the genocide that is being conducted by Israel in Gaza right now.

But AIPAC funds Ralph Alvarado precisely because this is the kind of nonsense he's willing to say on behalf of Israel.

08/24/2026

My Republican opponent in KY-6, Ralph Alvarado, is even worse than the Democrat, Zach Dembo, when it comes to foreign policy and our relationship with Israel.

While Dembo won’t admit that Israel is committing genocide, Alvarado is funded by AIPAC and he’s perfectly happy to recite talking points on behalf of a country that is literally committing genocide.

Like all other AIPAC-funded candidates, he must be rejected in November. He doesn’t put America first. He puts Israel and his rich donors first.

08/22/2026

We've established that my Republican and Democratic opponents in the KY-6 race for US Congress are either openly supportive of Israel (Ralph Alvarado-R) or at least quietly supportive of Israel and unwilling to acknowledge that Israel is committing genocide (Zach Dembo for Congress-D).

While I've made several posts about the depraved views held by Alvarado and Dembo when it comes to Israel, it came to my attention yesterday--after seeing a video featuring Congressman Andy Barr that I'd heard about but had not previously seen--that it's been at least a few months since I made a post specifically about Andy Barr, the Republican candidate for US Senate in Kentucky who is pro-AI data center, pro-billionaire, pro-war, and pro-Israel.

I was given permission to share this video, which clearly illustrates how bad AIPAC Andy is on foreign policy--and especially war and Israel.

Andy Barr doesn't belong in the US Senate. He belongs nowhere near the levers of political power. If he was in an election for dog catcher and his opponent was Kristi Noem, I'd have a hard time deciding who to vote for.

Anyways, here's what he said when he was confronted about his intentionally blind support for Israel at a fundraiser in Berea.

08/21/2026

My Republican opponent in the KY-6 race is one of AIPAC's favorite candidates. He must be defeated.

Yesterday, I posted a video of my Democratic opponent in KY-6, Zach Dembo, saying that he sees no evidence that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. But my Republican opponent, Ralph Alvarado, is even worse. While AIPAC PAC typically engages in electioneering by sending its members' contributions to campaigns, it occasionally gives directly to the most pro-Israel candidates up for election. AIPAC PAC has given $5,000 directly to Alvarado's campaign so far. That may not seem like much, but in 2024 only 13 candidates for Congress received at least as much funding directly from AIPAC as Alvarado has received so far, and those candidates were among the most pro-Israel candidates in the country. So, as bad as Dembo is, Alvarado is even worse. And by a wide margin.

Here's a video of what he had to say about AIPAC and Israel. These videos of Dembo and Alvarado make it clear that neither will stand up to the corrupting influence of the Israel lobby, which seems intent on keeping the US involved in endless wars in the Middle East.

A vote for either the Democrat or the Republican is a vote for supporting Israel and endless wars. A vote for our campaign with the Kentucky Party in KY-6 is a vote for ending all funding for Israel, requiring members of the Israel lobby to register as agents under the FARA, supporting the statehood of Palestine and, more broadly, a vote for peace.

08/21/2026

After the Kentucky General Assembly betrayed Kentuckians by passing HB 775 in March 2025 to provide tax cuts for companies building AI data centers, Governor Andy Beshear didn't fight to let the public know about the planned AI data center right next to Mammoth Cave National Park, much less actually push back against that project.

Instead, he decided to fly to Ireland to meet with corporate leaders from Kingspan Group PLC whose subsidiary, Tate Inc., builds parts for the internal infrastructure of AI data centers. On October 15 of 2025, it was announced that Tate Inc. would be building its largest American plant in Glasgow, KY, just 10 miles south of Cave City.

You read that right. Instead of fighting against building an AI data center at the foot of a national park that's built on a cave system, Beshear did quite the opposite by helping to bring a company that builds parts for AI data centers right next door, where it could help supply parts for that AI data center and others all around the state and the country.

He, like the Republican-dominated Kentucky General Assembly, betrayed Kentuckians.

Now, he's issued a feckless executive order to send the signal that he's fighting on behalf of Kentuckians when it comes to AI data centers when, in reality, he's been a huge ally to the AI data center industry in Kentucky.

I suppose he changed his tune and issued the executive order because he realized, too late, that being an ally of AI data center development will be devastating to his presidential ambitions. Of course, he didn't want to actually do something meaningful to help Kentuckians at the expense of his wealthy donors. That's why he issued an executive order that is far more bark than bite, rather than taking serious steps to make amends for the damage he's helped our Republican-dominated General Assembly impose on the people of Kentucky.

Although Beshear has betrayed us, there is a path that he can take to make amends for what he's done. And if he does what he must do, he will help 4 Democrats and 89 Republicans in the General Assembly make amends for their betrayal of Kentuckians as well.

That path would require him to call for a special legislative session to repeal HB 775 and pass a statewide AI data center moratorium. He should have done this months ago. And he should do it now.

Our state legislature is so corrupt and sold out to corporate interests that I doubt they'd repeal HB 775 or pass a moratorium on AI data centers. But, when they don't, Beshear needs to use the bully pulpit he has as governor to call out every single member of the state legislature who voted for HB 775 and do everything he can to make all 61 state representatives and all 32 state senators who voted in favor of HB 775 lose their next elections.

08/21/2026

In this interview with Rachel Blevins, which aired on August 18, international relations scholar John Mearsheimer argued that the Iran war can’t be won, that it will in all likelihood lead to catastrophic defeat, and that it will likely come to be viewed as the greatest foreign policy disaster in American history.

I agree. We never should have joined Israel in attacking Iran, and it was obvious from day 1 that the longer the war goes on, the worse it will get.
We need to repeal the AUMF and amend the War Powers Resolution to shift war-making powers back to Congress—where it belongs.

Pete Lynch For Kentucky

08/28/2026

08/28/2026

08/27/2026

08/26/2026

08/25/2026

08/24/2026

08/22/2026

08/21/2026

08/21/2026

08/21/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Listing takedown request