Two plots showing: (1) economic development is primarily discussed in a slightly positive way, while most other topics are discussed primarily negatively, and (2) meetings in which more members of the public speak are much more negative than meetings in which more officials speak.

We use those classifications to show that communities are cautiously optimistic about potential economic development, but more negative about nearly everything else. Further, most of this opposition is driven by residents. Officials are much more positive about data centers.

Much more to come soon!

A diagram showing how we use local government meeting transcripts from LocalView to classify discussions of data centers into positions (positive, negative, or neutral), speakers (members of the public, officials, and other), and issues (utility rate increases, water, etc.).

A bar graph showing that land use and infrastructure, electricity, water, and other utilities are among the most common topics discussed about data centers (appearing in 25-40% of data center discussions), while other tangible concerns about noise and traffic are less common but still appear often (10-15%). Economic development discussions appear around the middle of the distribution.

Next, we use video transcripts to track (1) issues (e.g. water usage, utility rates), (2) speakers (e.g. members of the public vs. local officials), and (3) positions (speaking in favor or opposed to a possible data center).

A graph showing the increase in attention to data centers in local government meetings between 2023 and 2026.

New short working paper with @mpreece.bsky.social + Adam Rauh: "Local community opposition to data centers is clear and growing."

We use LocalView to study data center discussions in thousands of local government meetings across the US. First, we show attention is surging:

osf.io/preprints/so...

Awesome! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the three of us after the talk in case there’s some way the pipeline can be useful for your / Fair Rep’s work.

Wow congrats Cam!!! That is amazing news. I’m really thrilled for you (and for them!). Also happy to learn we won’t be too far away from one another! 🙏

Redistricting Reforms Reduce Gerrymandering by Constraining Partisan Actors is now forthcoming in the APSR!

We use a game theoretic treatment and continuous DiD(iD) to show when redistricting reforms work

with @corymccartan.com, @simko.bsky.social, Emma Ebowe, Michael Zhao, and Kosuke Imai

Looking for a postdoc in American politics? Come work with us in Ann Arbor! No obligations other than research. Preference for institutions-focused work, but we’re open to a wide range of substantive interests (including local politics!). Happy to answer any questions: apply.interfolio.com/178829

Looking for a postdoc in American politics? Come work with us in Ann Arbor! No obligations other than research. Preference for institutions-focused work, but we’re open to a wide range of substantive interests (including local politics!). Happy to answer any questions: apply.interfolio.com/178829

Unexpected Margins: Analysis of the 2025 Elections Expert Q&A with takeaways and predictions drawn from the 2025 elections with CBS elections analyst and University of Michigan political scientist Tyler Simko

The big Democratic wins of the 2025 elections will shift political dynamics and strategies in the coming year. For key takeaways, read our Q&A with UM political scientist Tyler Simko @simko.bsky.social, elections analyst for CBS.

cpsblog.isr.umich.edu?p=3516

Dense, high Hispanic counties like Hudson also point against the ‘24 red shift constituting a lasting “new” NJ. Cities like Perth Amboy saw large ‘24 Trump shifts, but supported Sherrill on Tuesday with overwhelming margins.

Read more from me and @kabirkhanna.bsky.social for #CBSDataDesk🍎 below!

NJ's bluest counties saw biggest turnout increases, propelling landslide

Three densest counties saw largest jumps from '21:
Hudson (Jersey City), Essex (Newark), Union
>30% increase in total vote
>30-pt Democratic margin

High-profile local races helped, e.g., Jersey City mayoral w/ former gov

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2025 NYC Mayoral Race by Neighborhood CBS News estimates of how different parts of the city voted

NYC map shaded by vote margin!

We collected very granular precinct data and aggregated it to neighborhoods people actually recognize

Bushwick, Flushing, Upper West Side, etc.

datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Wrd72/

H/T @mitelectionlab.bsky.social @chriskenny.bsky.social @corymccartan.com @simko.bsky.social

2025 NYC Mayoral Race by Neighborhood

Mamdani's win by NYC neighborhood: datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Wrd72/4/

Hover over map to see our estimates...

#CBSDataDesk🍎

Here at the CBS News data desk with @chriskenny.bsky.social and @simko.bsky.social! Looking at the VA numbers

Supported by both the Fordham Institute and @wallacefoundation.bsky.social, Michael Hartney and I explored the extent to which U.S. school board members are politically and demographically representative of the communities they serve.

Here's a summary of our main findings:

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Thanks so much @stano.bsky.social !! Yes, will definitely post a public draft here when we have it ready.

At APSA 2025: Local Governments and Symbolic Representation In Event: Political Representation in Urban Politics Thu, September 11, 8:00 to 9:30am PDT Tyler Simko, University of Michigan Taran Samarth, Yale University

👀 Local governments often take "symbolic" stances on issues where they hold no authority or jurisdiction. @simko.bsky.social and Taran Samarth examine the dynamics and purpose of "symbolic representation" by studying the response of US local governments to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. #APSA2025

Echoing @mirya.bsky.social, thanks David!! We’re super grateful for your interest.

Trump’s proposed snap Census won’t get him the seats he wants A new Census would likely diminish political representation for Republican areas.

Trump’s proposed rush job Census isn’t just immoral and regressive—it will harm communities across the country and compromise data quality: @chriskenny.bsky.social and I in @thehill.com today:

thehill.com/opinion/camp...

Do you use tract boundaries in your research? Jake Brown, @simko.bsky.social, and I have a new working paper (osf.io/preprints/so...): Any Way You Slice It: Racial Segregation Statistics are Robust to Aggregation Bias

We show that tract-level segregation is robust to MAUP using simulation methods.

"shifts in political geography and gerrymandering reduced the number of highly competitive districts by over 25% [from 2010 to 2020], with geographic polarization driving most of the decline."

In our polarized political environment, I’m excited to share my new ASR publication: “Competence over Partisanship: Party Affiliation Does Not Affect the Selection of School District Superintendents”. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Great article, and a good example of the continuing value of public, open source research tools (we published these simulations in 2022). When new claims and arguments arise, anyone can use existing resources to examine them.

Thanks so much, and yes! Will shoot you an email now.

Thanks so much @sjacks26.bsky.social!! We’re really excited by this, really hoping the data can be useful for other things exactly like this.

Republicans are seeking to create a durable gerrymander in Texas Short-term tactical gains in Texas could ultimately yield a race to the bottom.

You may have noticed things are happening fast in the world of redistricting…

I along with @maxwellpalmer.com and @simko.bsky.social wrote an article last week (though published today) that analyzes the changes to the congressional district map in Texas, and particularly San Antonio.

Thanks for reading David!! What a nice surprise to hear from you. Hope all is well and we can catch up soon.

Texas was already arguably the biggest Republican gerrymander in the nation, according to this PNAS paper by @chriskenny.bsky.social @corymccartan.com @simko.bsky.social @shirokuriwaki.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...