Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema urged the Chandler City Council on Oct. 16 to support an AI data hub proposal for the Price Road Innovation Campus, saying Chandler is positioned to lead the next wave of high‑tech investment.

Sinema, who said she is the founder and chair of the AI Infrastructure Coalition, told the council that “AI is a national security imperative” and that Chandler should prepare to host the kinds of high‑compute facilities companies will need. “The AI revolution is now at our doorstep, and I believe that Chandler should lead the way again,” she said.

Sinema said the Price Road Innovation Campus has been vacant for more than seven years and argued that the site is unlikely to be redeveloped absent a plan tailored to AI infrastructure. “That place will remain empty if not developed with this plan until federal preemption comes, which is coming and it is coming soon,” she said, urging local leaders to act while they retain local control.

Members of the council did not take formal action during the unscheduled appearance, but Sinema noted that the Chandler Planning Commission voted 5‑1 on the previous night to move the AI data hub proposal forward to the city’s review process. She described AI data centers as materially different from “regular data centers,” saying they require far greater computing power and can attract high‑value research and development jobs.

Council members and staff did not debate or vote on the project during the meeting. No specific development application or ordinance was before the council at the Oct. 16 session. Sinema said she expects an AI hub proposal to be presented to the city in the coming months and encouraged the council to shape the proposal’s benefits for Chandler during the review process.

The mayor and council received Sinema’s remarks as part of the unscheduled public‑appearance period; no city decision or formal direction was recorded at the meeting regarding the Price Road Innovation Campus.