A Butler County mayor announced he will retire at the end of the year following months of turmoil over a proposed Amazon data center.
Trenton Mayor Ryan Perry shared in the final minutes of the City Council's meeting Oct. 15 that he will step down from his role on Jan. 1, 2027, one year before his term was set to expire.
Perry was first elected to the city council 15 years ago. In Trenton, the seven elected council members choose a mayor and vice mayor and most have full-time jobs outside of council.
Data center debate escalates in Trenton
Perry's resignation comes after months of debate in Trenton over two proposed data centers in the area, including one for Amazon Web Services.
Trenton residents will get to vote on whether to ban large data centers from the city this November. The ballot
issue comes after the Ohio Supreme Court found the Trenton City Council "disregarded" the law by not certifying a resident-led petition in August.
The council and city alsotried to annex land from two neighboring rural townships to build an 18-building Amazon data center. But after pushback from residents and the townships, the city withdrew the petition just before the Butler County Board of Commissioners was set to hear it.
The tension over the data centers escalated at the council's meeting Oct. 1, when the council introduced a set of financial benefits that would have only taken effect if its residents voted down the ban in November. Public comment erupted into a yelling match, and at least one audience member was escorted out of the meeting.
However, the council voted unanimously Oct. 15 to withdraw these resolutions. A staff report called the resolutions a "mistake."
"The city recognizes the importance of maintaining neutrality on matters submitted to the electorate," the staff report read.
'That's irresponsible for me'
According to his LinkedIn, Perry also works full time at GE Aerospace. During the meeting, Perry said that when he first started on council, he spent about four to five hours on council responsibilities. Now, he's spending 35 to 40 hours in addition to his other full-time job. He said that he is "changing my work responsibilities again, and I will be at work more."
"That is a significant time difference from when I started on council, and I have moved on in my career, and I've moved to a place where I don't have that kind of time to spend with the citizens anymore," he said. "And that's irresponsible for me."
He said that he hasn't been able to live up to his own expectation of meeting with and responding to all citizens. While he's returned every phone call, he said he hasn't answered all the citizens who have reached out over email.
" I expect myself to return emails, and I expect myself to answer your questions whether we agree or whether we don't agree with something," he said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Trenton mayor resigns after monthslong dispute over data centers
