Amid escalating tensions over the role of data centers in the city of Hillsboro — and the tax breaks their developers have recently been granted— one voice has been conspicuously absent: the mayor’s.

Hillsboro Mayor Beach Pace was not present at an intense June 2 meeting on data centers that lasted over four hours. Nor was she present at a five-hour follow-up meeting on June 9. And she was not present this week when public comment on data centers and the conduct of councilors turned so intense that Council President Rob Harris ended the meeting early.

Several attendees at each of these meetings have worn T-shirts that call for Pace’s recall.

Her absence stretches back more than a month. At the council’s May 19 meeting, Harris said Pace was on a “well deserved family vacation,” and city staff have noted at the start of each meeting that Pace’s absence was excused. Pace’s email currently has an automatic out of office reply stating she will return Monday, June 22.

Backlash over data centers in Hillsboro has grown in recent weeks in tandem with a wave of nationwide anger over the power-hungry computing facilities. Hillsboro is already home to 34 data centers, more than any other city in the state, according to Data Center Maps. That number is likely to grow, as the city recently signed off on enterprise zone tax exemptions for 15 developments related to new or existing data centers.

Resentment in Hillsboro grew this spring as reporting from The Oregonian revealed that some of those tax breaks extend decades into the future.

In an interview with OPB, City Councilor Olivia Alcair expressed frustration with Pace for not showing up for discussions proving to be among the city’s most contentious in recent years.

“I think she needed to be present. I think that even on vacation, especially for this last meeting, the last two meetings, where we had so many people angry,” Alcaire said. “I think she should have taken time and joined us on Zoom. The community is upset and pissed off.”

Alcaire also characterized Pace as friendly to data centers and the tech industry in general.

Pace has not responded to OPB’s requests for comment. Harris told OPB the mayor’s vacation was planned over a year ago.

Tuesday’s meeting leads to calls for councilor’s resignation

Though data centers were not on the agenda for Tuesday’s city council meeting, the subject of public comment inevitably turned in that direction, then quickly escalated.

The meeting intensified as Councilor Cristian Salgado began recording one of the public commenters with his cellphone.

He began filming as resident Simone Campbell criticized social media posts made by Salgado and Harris.

Alcaire said she did not think it was appropriate for members of the council to taunt the audience. Salgado asked if the council had rules around livestreaming the meeting.

“This is a livestream to my council page. I want people to understand. I want people to know what’s being publicly commented,” Salgado said.

A member of the audience also stated that Salgado blew a kiss toward her. This was not shown on the meeting video but Salgado told the Hillsboro News-Times, “I did not intentionally blow a kiss to taunt anybody; that is absolutely ridiculous.”

The next day, Councilor Elizabeth Case took to social media to call for Salgado’s censure and resignation.

Asked by OPB whether he would join those calls, Harris pointed to his own social media statement, which said, “Never should a city councilor use their position to intentionally antagonize our community as Councilor Salgado did. He should evaluate his future on our city council.”

In addition to a censure vote, Alcaire told OPB she thinks the council needs a diversity, equity and inclusion expert to lead a conversation about what happened, what went wrong and what needs to happen going forward.

“I do not trust the rest of the council to make that equitable kind of decision,” she said. “I think they’re gonna jump on him [Salgado] because he’s a Latino.”

Salgado did not respond to OPB’s request for comment.

In a Facebook post made after Tuesday’s meeting, Salgado said, “They call me names, make up lies, and consistently try to pull me into arguments with personal insults that cross the line. All I did was take out my phone and stream a public meeting. That alone was enough to make people scatter and panic. Now somehow I am the antagonizer. I am the attacker, and they are the victim.”

Other than Harris and Alcaire, the other members of council did not respond to OPB’s request for comment.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/18/hillsboro-mayor-absence-looms-large-heated-data-center-discussions/