You opened your electric bill last summer and thought there was a mistake.
There wasn't. Ohio residential electricity bills rose 23.3% year over year as of July 2025 — the third-largest increase in the entire country. (Source: Cleveland Magazine, Dec 3, 2025) Not third in the Midwest. Third in the nation. If you felt like you were getting squeezed, it's because you were.
So where is all that electricity going?
It's going to the 24 data centers that have moved into Greater Cleveland. These massive facilities consume staggering amounts of power, and they're straining the same regional grid that heats your home and keeps your lights on. The wholesale capacity prices in our energy market rose 800% in 2024, then another 22% in July 2025. (Source: Ohio Capital Journal, Dec 11, 2025) Energy market analysts project that data center demand could add up to $70 a month to residential bills.
Let me say that again. Seventy dollars a month. That's groceries for a week. That's a kid's school supplies. That's the difference between making rent and not making rent.
I'm not against technology. I'm against a system where billion-dollar corporations race to build in Ohio while working families pick up the tab through higher utility bills. (Source: Policy Matters Ohio, Oct 28, 2025) The issue isn't what these companies build — it's who pays for the infrastructure they use. Right now, that's you.
And Ohio's state government? They passed HB 15, which lets data centers bypass local zoning entirely. Your community doesn't even get a say in whether one of these things goes up next door. The good news is that communities are fighting back, and legislators are finally starting to listen — new bills like HB 706 and HB 710 would impose conditions on utility connections for these facilities. (Source: Cleveland Scene, Mar 12, 2026) But we need people in Washington pushing for the same accountability at the federal level.
Now Let's Talk About the Rest of Your Bills.
Your electric bill isn't the only thing that went through the roof. In 2024, Cuyahoga County's property reappraisal produced an average 32% increase in property values — which means higher taxes on the same house you've been living in for years. Over 20,000 homeowners filed complaints. There are $248 million in delinquent property taxes in the county. (Source: Signal Cleveland, Jan 6, 2026) That's not a housing boom. That's a system telling working families they can't afford to live in their own neighborhoods anymore.
And if you rent? Nearly half of Ohio's 1.58 million renters are paying more than they can afford. Among the lowest-income renters, 73% spend more than half their income just on housing. (Source: Ohio Capital Journal, Mar 10, 2026) Ohio is short 266,000 affordable housing units. Cleveland alone lacks 54,000. (Source: Ohio Capital Journal, Jul 18, 2025)
Here's the number that keeps me up at night: to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Ohio, you need to make $22.51 an hour. Ohio's minimum wage is $11 an hour. You do the math. I've done it. As a nurse and a mom who has lived through seasons of feast and famine, I've done that math at my kitchen table more times than I can count.
What I'd Fight for in Congress
- Corporate accountability on the grid. If billion-dollar companies are straining our energy infrastructure, they pay for the upgrades — not residential ratepayers.
- Community control over development. No more state preemption laws that strip local communities of their voice on industrial projects.
- Real affordable housing investment. Federal funding to close Ohio's 266,000-unit gap. Tenant protections. An end to Wall Street buying up single-family homes.
- A living wage. Nobody working full-time should choose between rent and food. Period.
I'm not running for Congress to make speeches about the economy. I'm running because every number in this post is somebody I know. Somebody I've cared for. Somebody whose kid goes to school with my kids.
We need 2,200 signatures to get on the ballot by May 4th. If these numbers make you angry, good. Turn that anger into action. Sign. Volunteer. Talk to your neighbors. This campaign runs on people, not corporate money — and that means it runs on you.