Executives Behind Controversial Saline Data Center Donated to Haley Stevens

As Saline Township residents continue raising concerns about one of the largest data-center developments in the country, executives connected to the project are putting money behind Haley Stevens for U.S. Senate.

Jeff Blau, CEO of Related Companies, contributed $7,000 to Stevens’ Senate campaign—$3,500 designated for the Democratic primary and another $3,500 for the general election. Charles O’Byrne, Executive Vice President for Policy, contributed $1,000.

Related Companies is the real-estate empire founded by billionaire University of Michigan donor Stephen Ross. Its Related Digital division is developing the massive data-center campus now under construction in Saline Township.

Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, currently running for governor, is under scrutiny for her husband’s role in bringing the data center to Saline. Ryan Friedrichs served as a lobbyist and VP of Related Digital during the planning process. Some reports estimate he could earn up to $70 million on the deal.

Blau personally helped promote the project. He appeared with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and other business leaders at its groundbreaking, describing it as “one of the largest infrastructure investments happening anywhere in the United States today,” according to Bridge Michigan.

But the Related money is only one piece of Stevens’ connection to the project.

In April, Related Digital announced that it had secured $16 billion in financing for the Saline campus. The financing includes equity from Related Digital and funds affiliated with Blackstone, along with debt financing.

Blackstone employees contributed another $31,000 to Stevens’ campaign.

Donors included Blackstone president Jon Gray, who gave $7,000, along with several others.

Combined, Related and Blackstone employees contributed at least $39,000 to Stevens.

Blackstone’s involvement is not incidental. The investment giant describes itself as a leading data-center investor managing an approximately $85 billion global data-center platform. Related Digital and Blackstone formally announced their Saline financing arrangement in an April 2026 press release.

The Saline project has faced strong local opposition over electricity demand, possible new power generation, environmental effects, and the conversion of farmland into an industrial computing campus. Related initially encountered resistance from township officials before litigation and subsequent agreements allowed the project to proceed.

DTE Energy is expected to play a central role in supplying the enormous amount of electricity the facility requires. Stevens’ records also show significant donations from several DTE employees.

The pattern is difficult to ignore: The executives developing and financing Michigan’s most consequential data-center project are also investing in candidates seeking to represent the state in the Governor’s Office and the U.S. Senate.

The executives behind the project are making sure Washington gets a senator who already knows their names and owes them favors.