Dustin Fawcett

Ector County Judge. Solution-Oriented Republican. Proud Father and Husband. @DustinForEctor for Ector County business.

[Texas National Security Council @TXNatSecurity]

DATA CENTER FACT VS FICTION

FICTION: They don’t create real employment.

FACT: Major hyperscale builds employ 1,500–5,000 skilled construction workers over 18–24 months, and support ~150 direct/indirect jobs once operational.

FICTION: The jobs they do create are low-wage.

FACT: The average data center salary is roughly $160K. That’s nearly double the national median household income.

FICTION: Data centers take more from communities than they give back.

FACT: In hubs like Loudoun County, VA, data centers generate ~38% of the county’s general fund revenue. They pay $26 in taxes for every $1 in public services they use, 6x more than traditional manufacturing.

The bottom line: Data centers are delivering real jobs and real economic return for Texas communities.

[Alex Epstein @AlexEpstein]

Data centers, like everything good, require a lot of energy.

Stop blaming them for rising electricity prices, which were caused by anti-fossil-fuel policies that artificially restricted our reliable electricity supply.

My appearance tonight on @FoxBusiness with @BrianBrenberg

[Dustin Fawcett @Dfaw21]

Chasing social issues and low level red-meat issues in politics rather than addressing real infrastructure and governance issues has its down stream effects. Data centers are not the problem, the state of our politics is.

[𝗝𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘆 𝗗. 𝗞𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻 @JeramyKitchen]

Data centers have become a convenient scapegoat for problems policymakers should have addressed long ago.

- Grid capacity? Build infrastructure.
- Water scarcity? Fix water policy.
- Transmission costs? Make those creating the costs bear them.
- Corporate welfare? End it for everyone.
- Property conflicts? Protect property rights & enforce nuisance laws.
- Regulatory concerns? Establish neutral rules through the Legislature.

Economic growth requiring more infrastructure isn't an argument against economic growth.

Data centers aren't the problem. Bad policy is.

[Dustin Fawcett @Dfaw21]

@CurrentRevolt Uses it incessantly and gets tricked into sharing false articles. Pretty wild of a statewide.

[Dustin Fawcett @Dfaw21]

@RepPfluger always representing CD11 the right way!

[Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett @DustinForEctor]

There are a lot of narratives going around regarding data centers, I authored up my take on how West Texas and specifically Ector County can take on this challenge. https://t.co/BFjl0wY0SM

[Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett @DustinForEctor]

West Texas Built One Boom. It Can Build Another.
By Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett

Odessa knows how to build an industry from scratch.

When the first oil wells came in across the Permian Basin, nobody had a blueprint. The infrastructure didn't exist, the workforce had to be trained, and critics said the land was too remote, the conditions too harsh, the risks too high. West Texans figured it out anyway, and in doing so, they powered a nation.

That same instinct is what I bring to the conversation about data centers. Texas needs to lean into this opportunity, not shy away from it.

Data centers are not an abstraction. They are the infrastructure behind everything we take for granted: the apps on our phones, the payment systems at every gas station and grocery store, the electronic health records at rural hospitals across West Texas. When a small-town ER physician pulls up a patient's medical history, a data center made it possible. When a soldier in the field accesses real-time intelligence, data infrastructure made it possible. These facilities are as essential to modern life as the power grid, and America's ability to lead in artificial intelligence depends on building enough of them, fast enough, on American soil.

Texas is already at the center of that buildout, competing with Virginia, Arizona, and the rest of the world for this investment. The question for Ector County and West Texas broadly is whether we want a seat at that table.

I do, and here's why we're better positioned than anywhere else in the country.

The Permian Basin produces something that data centers need and most of the country lacks: energy and water, in abundance, side by side.

Start with energy. The fracking revolution made the Permian the most prolific oil basin in the world, but associated natural gas overwhelmed pipeline capacity faster than anyone could keep up. Prices at Waha Hub went negative for more than 40% of trading days in 2024. Operators were paying to move gas or flaring it, disposing of abundance instead of profiting from it. Data centers change that calculus. A gigawatt-scale facility consumes roughly 170 million cubic feet of gas per day, and behind-the-meter generation turns a stranded resource into the most reliable, dispatchable power source in the world.

The water side works the same way. Not municipal water but produced water. Billions of gallons pumped out of the earth alongside oil and gas, currently shot back underground for lack of better use. Treatment technology is changing that. Ceramic membrane filtration, electrocoagulation, ion exchange. These are working solutions that bring produced water to specification for industrial cooling without touching the municipal supply. Done right, cleaning those more than 20 million barrels generated daily could add to the municipal water supplies rather than drain them.

The oil and gas industry has already proven this model. When operators faced pressure on freshwater use in the Permian, they didn't retreat. They innovated. ExxonMobil went from recycling 64 percent of produced water in its hydraulic fracturing operations in 2022 to 87 percent by 2024. Data centers can follow the same path, and West Texas has the infrastructure, the expertise, and the water supply to make it happen here.

The broader tech industry is already moving in that direction. Google's new data center in Wilbarger County will use advanced air-cooling technology that eliminates operational water use almost entirely. The company has committed to replenishing more water than it consumes and is working with conservation groups to improve watershed health across the state. That is what responsible development looks like, and it is proof that the water concern and the growth opportunity are not mutually exclusive.

[Dustin Fawcett @Dfaw21]

@quorumreport It would be nice if his platform included actual oil and gas regulatory policy, unlike his runoff opponent who seems to care more about any topic except those involving the Railroad Commission.

[Dustin Fawcett @Dfaw21]

@CurrentRevolt This happened in our community where a local activist funded texts, boosted social media ads, and had his relative (who is an elected official on my court) publish op-Ed’s against me. The result? 88% victory for me on Tuesday. Social media is not reality.

[Dustin Fawcett @Dfaw21]

@CaryCheshireTX @bofrench The Permian Basin is home to <3% of the population, yet is responsible for >15% of Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes in TX. DPS runs on skeleton crews and county sheriff's departments are in the same boat. THIS issue is one that my constituents ACTUALLY worry about.

[Dustin Fawcett @Dfaw21]

I am excited to announce I will be running for re-election in the 2026 Republican Primary. We are just getting started! 🇺🇸

[Dustin Fawcett @Dfaw21]

This is awesome. 🇺🇸

[Markwayne Mullin @SenMullin]

Let’s talk about DEI:

I grew up in Indian Country, living on the same land my ancestors were forced to move to. I was born with bowed knees and a bad speech impediment. I lived in a barn. I NEVER let that be an excuse.

Today, we all have EQUAL opportunity in America. 🇺🇸

[Dustin Fawcett @Dfaw21]

Welcome to the Republican Judge Club, Judge!

[Brad Johnson @bradj_TX]

2026 Watch: Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina has flipped parties from Democrat to Republican. Trump won Webb County, first R presidential win in 100 years.

The county is part of #TX28, which had a surprisingly close general election.

[August Pfluger @AugustPfluger]

Welcome to the Permian Basin, @realDonaldTrump! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[Joseph Hoyt @JoeJHoyt]

I’m not a big AI fan…

But damnit. This Buc-ee’s theme song hits.

🎥 TikTok/@beatsbyaiofficial

[Dustin Fawcett @Dfaw21]

.@GeorgeStrait is the 👑

[Ted Cruz @tedcruz]

The King, 30 seconds after finding out that his @tamu concert tonight had the largest audience of any concert in American history:

110,905

It was also the largest audience EVER at Kyle Field.

[Emmanuel Acho @EmmanuelAcho]

Wow! Tom Brady may have just delivered the greatest quote I’ve ever heard.

“To be successful at anything, the truth is you don’t have to be special. You just have to be what most people aren’t: consistent, determined and willing to work for it.”

[Dustin Fawcett @Dfaw21]

@brianeharrison Always point out obvious problems and never provide solutions. State surplus is not the solution. Changing funding formulas to allocate locally generated revenue like sales tax and other fees collected (that go to the state to be squandered) should stay locally.

[Dustin Fawcett @Dfaw21]

@brianeharrison Then how do you propose funding local governments? Rural sheriff's departments, district & county court systems who put bad guys behind bars? County roads? Use State surplus aka Local govs relying on a centralized government in Austin to give handouts? Sounds DC to me.

[Dustin Fawcett @Dfaw21]

The endorsement culture that has taken over campaigns in Texas should be concerning to every Texan.

We have created a pathway for poor candidates w/ no substance to be able to rely on someone else’s name & dark money.

Taxpayers lose.#txlege is heading the wrong way.