Data Center Fight Tightens Frederick County Executive Race

Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater is facing a tighter general election than anticipated against Republican challenger Jeff Holtzinger on Tuesday, November 3. The contest has narrowed around a dispute over the county’s data center expansion near Adamstown, a conflict that has drawn legal challenges and split local voters.

Fitzwater, a former music teacher who has served on the county council for 12 years, won the executive’s office in 2022 by fewer than 1,000 votes. She is seeking a second term despite Holtzinger’s argument that rising property taxes and unmanaged growth drove him back into politics. Holtzinger, a civil engineer who served as Frederick city mayor in 2005, contends the county lacks the water infrastructure and road capacity to support new hyperscale facilities.

The race was considered a lock for Fitzwater based on party registration and fundraising. Maryland Matters reported that Fitzwater has outnumbered Holtzinger in fundraising by 32 to 1 and in spending by nearly 40 to 1. In a county of roughly 210,000 people, 39% of registered voters are Democrats, 33% are Republicans, and 28% are unaffiliated. Former county council member Kai Hagen told Maryland Matters that without the data center issue, Fitzwater would have faced an easy reelection.

The central issue involves a 2,600-acre overlay zone approved by the county council in late 2025 with Fitzwater’s support. The zone, located near the Potomac River border with Virginia, includes former farmland and the site of the old Eastalco aluminum smelter. Fitzwater argued the move limited where data centers could be built, while critics viewed it as an expansion of the industry into the area.

Quantum Maryland LLC, managed by Catellus Maryland, filed a 67-page complaint in Frederick County Circuit Court in early October. The company claims zoning authority rests with the council rather than the executive and seeks to overturn recent moratoriums. Fitzwater called the suit rife with factual errors and outright lies in a statement on her campaign Facebook page. The county has not commented on the pending litigation.

Campaign dynamics have shifted as Fitzwater tells voters that door-to-door conversations focus more on immigration enforcement and affordability. She has pledged to work with the incoming council to reduce the 2025 zoning expansion. Holtzinger accuses her of secrecy and flip-flopping. A super PAC called United Frederick has spent more than $400,000 on ads linking Holtzinger to President Donald Trump and immigration enforcement, a strategy Holtzinger describes as a distraction from local issues.

The outcome will influence how other Maryland counties manage the hyperscale industry. A University of Maryland, Baltimore County Institute of Politics poll found nearly 8 in 10 Maryland voters oppose building data centers. The state’s Utility Relief Act requires the Public Service Commission to track large load customers using at least 25 megawatts. Early voting ended on October 29, and polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

The Quantum Maryland lawsuit will proceed regardless of the election result. The winner will inherit a data center moratorium set to run through July 1, 2027, along with the ongoing zoning dispute that defines the county’s approach to technology infrastructure.