A Kentucky city council annexation meeting earlier in September ended abruptly after council member Melinda Wofford walked out, eliminating the quorum needed to consider an ordinance that could have moved a proposed hyperscale data center project closer to reality. Now, the internet is crowning Wofford as a hero for standing up despite being “outnumbered.”
The incident in Burgin, a Mercer County community of roughly 1,000 people (of whom only 0.8 percent are Black), quickly drew praise online, with social media users commending Wofford and expressing concern for her safety. The council had been scheduled to vote on whether to instruct the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would annex several parcels of Burgin where Panattoni Data Centers wants to develop a hyperscale facility. It would have marked the second attempt to consider annexing the property.
Suddenly, Wofford intentionally left the meeting at the city’s fire department, later telling the Kentucky Lantern, “You can’t do business without a quorum.” Her departure came after council member Travis Irvine recused himself over a potential conflict of interest, and another member, Kevin Wallace, was absent. The combination left the council without enough members to continue.
More than 100 residents had packed into the fire department’s engine bay for the meeting. Many were affiliated with We Are Mercer County, a community group that has raised concerns about the proposed facility’s potential effects on noise, air quality, water, electricity demand, and infrastructure.
Residents seem worried
Resident Zoé Strecker urged officials not to rush the project, saying the community should not be “sacrificed” for development. Panattoni senior vice president Brock Tomlinson, meanwhile, defended the proposal and pointed to the possibility of tens of millions of dollars in local tax revenue, according to interviews with Kentucky Lantern.
Wofford had also voted earlier in the meeting to advance a proposal for Burgin to join a joint planning and zoning commission with Mercer County and Harrodsburg. She said she would not approve annexation until Burgin had planning and zoning rules in place. Burgin currently has no such regulations.
The moment spread online after the video of Wofford walking away was shared online. Her actions have since been viewed millions of times across several social media platforms. Reddit users celebrated the move, with one writing, “Being that outnumbered and still walking out to kill the vote is actually badass.” Another posted, “Protect her at all costs,” while another simply wrote, “True Hero.”
Others focused on Wofford’s position as a Black woman in the overwhelmingly rural community. “We need more brave people like her,” one commenter wrote. Another added, “Black women always saving the world.” Some commenters also expressed concern about possible retaliation, with one saying, “I hope she is protected.”
More importantly, the annexation vote for the data center ultimately did not happen. Burgin Mayor Joe Monroe said Wofford had made her choice, while also noting that the city’s new planning and zoning process would not necessarily kill the data center proposal but could make development more difficult.
