Arizona leaders urge data centers to earn trust

What they're saying: We asked Maren Mahoney, director of the Governor's Office of Resiliency, and Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry president and CEO Danny Seiden if the bad blood between neighbors and data centers could be overcome.

• Here's what they told us:

Mahoney: "Government needs to ensure that transparency is at the core of development."

• She said that public officials must play the role of convener, and bring all stakeholders to the table for "honest conversations."
• "Distrust and misinformation are rampant," she said. "If we're going to make it, we all need to get together and build new relationships and build out trust."

Seiden: "The way we do business … has to change, and is already changing, particularly as it relates to data centers."

• He said that for too long, data centers projects have been subject to NDAs and secrecy, with little work done to build trust with surrounding communities.
• Seiden told us the Chamber has launched a campaign to urge businesses to do neighborhood work on the front end.
• He pointed to Intel, which has hosted neighborhood meetings and events at its manufacturing sites in Chandler for decades, as a good "corporate citizen model."