CAVE CITY, Ky. — Clifton Parsley will trade his seat on the Cave City Council for the mayor’s office after voters elected him Tuesday, defeating incumbent Dwayne Hatcher 286-207.

Opposing data center development within the city limits will be among Parsley’s top priorities as mayor. Asked how he plans to accomplish that, he declined to offer specifics, citing ongoing litigation involving the city.

“There’s some measures that we have that we could put in place to do that,” Parsley said. “Rest assured, we will work hard on coming to a resolution to where we can get something a lot more suitable for the property than a data center.”

Cave City policymakers voted in May to impose a yearlong moratorium on data center development within the city limits, citing the need to better understand the potential impacts of such facilities and determine whether Cave City is a suitable location for one.

Kentucky Industrial Alliance LLC filed a lawsuit challenging the moratorium. The company later filed a separate lawsuit challenging a 2024 annexation that brought a portion of its property within Cave City’s boundaries, making it subject to the moratorium.

The parties are scheduled to return to court Nov. 23 for a status update. The two lawsuits were consolidated during an August hearing. The judge has not yet ruled on any pending motions, including KIA’s request for an injunction and the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

While the company has shared limited details about its plans, a draft economic impact analysis released in June describes a proposed 10-building data center campus spanning approximately 600 acres in Cave City and unincorporated Barren County.

The company has also posted signage along Hughes Road, where work is underway on infrastructure associated with the proposed technology and data infrastructure campus in unincorporated Barren County. The area remains unzoned, although magistrates are expected to vote on a historic countywide zoning ordinance.

“We’re fighting hard to keep it from coming. We definitely want to see those people do something with that property, so that they can get their value out of it and also create a lot of jobs for us to where we can get the value out of it, too,” Parsley said.

Although Parsley believes opposition to data center development was the primary factor behind his election, he said Cave City has other challenges to address, including attracting new jobs and improving deteriorating buildings and properties.

“I’m excited to, maybe, clean Cave City up,” Parsley said. “I think we need to get a few more things in Cave City. A lot of people has to go to Bowling Green, Glasgow, or Elizabethtown.”

Parsley has also publicly opposed Barren County Judge/Executive Jamie Byrd’s proposal to establish a county tourism office that would levy its own transient room tax in addition to existing room taxes collected by cities such as Cave City.

Although Cave City officials would not have direct authority over a county-level decision, their support or opposition could influence how the proposal is received by magistrates if it comes before the fiscal court.

Parsley said he was grateful for voters’ support and pledged to “fight hard” for Cave City.

He will take office Jan. 1, 2027, alongside six newly elected City Council members.

Read more Barrenside coverage of data center developments.