Aslan says he alone urged cancelling Flagstaff's Flock contract at all three renewal meetings
Austin AslanFlagstaff City Council member running for reelection
Flagstaff City Council member Austin Aslan said he was the only council member to recommend cancelling the city's Flock contract at all three meetings where its renewal was considered, and that surveillance technology should be a policy decision for the city.
“Following Trump’s subsequent weaponization of ICE, the community was right to demand Council take an actual policy stance. A Flock contract renewal was considered during three separate Council meetings involving hours of public comment last Fall. I was the only councilmember to recommend cancelling the contract at all three meetings. I’m proud that I consistently side with valid public concerns on this and other important topics. Surveillance technology should be a city’s policy decision, not an administrative rubber stamp.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Should Flock-style license-plate surveillance networks exist?
Networked automated license-plate readers record passing vehicles and let agencies search or share travel records across locations. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to prohibit these networks, keep them with legal limits, or defend their use for investigations. This tracker records attributable positions on that choice, including proposals that would affect only public funding or data access.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Arizona Daily Sun feature in its 2026 candidate question series, printing the written answers of Flagstaff City Council and mayoral candidates to a question about Flock cameras. The paper says the answers were limited to 150 words and printed unedited unless a candidate went over that limit.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The Arizona Daily Sun asked the Flagstaff City Council and mayoral candidates on the November ballot where they stood on Flock cameras and their potential use in Flagstaff. The paper printed their written answers, limited to 150 words and unedited unless a candidate exceeded that limit. Aslan opened his answer by citing a John Oliver segment on police surveillance and writing that Flock cameras were first authorized in Flagstaff through a consent agenda during the Biden era.
After the quotation
Aslan added that the Flagstaff Police Department is now discussing the use of drones in emergency response and urged residents to stay involved and keep weighing in.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Aslan wrote that he was the only council member to recommend cancelling Flagstaff's Flock contract at all three meetings where renewal was considered, and that the community was right to demand a policy stance. He presents ending the contract as his position, so Condemned fits.
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- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Flock Safety
More from this case
Read the full caseJacob Burnett says Flock-style cameras should be done away with, with warrants required if they stay
“The systems themselves can be modified to prevent nearly all abuse and be made more secure by requiring warrants for access or follow through on any data the systems collect and have all data stored on the hardware itself preventing viewing from remote locations, requiring strict login credentials and a connecting warrant number to access. These are common sense changes that if the systems are to be used I feel could correct a lot of abuse or privacy concerns but I also feel the systems should be done away with overall, especially in the realm of predictive crime analytics.”Read statement
Dean Brewer, an independent candidate for Tennessee governor, says Flock cameras should be banned
“I believe flock cameras should be banned.”Read statement
Buddy Carter says license plate cameras help investigators but need privacy safeguards
“Technologies like license plate recognition cameras can provide valuable investigative tools, but they have also raised important questions about privacy and government oversight. As these systems become more common, it is important to balance public safety with appropriate safeguards that protect individual privacy.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Aslan says he alone urged cancelling Flagstaff's Flock contract at all three renewal meetings". First published: 2026-09-29. Last updated: 2026-09-29. https://disputeindex.com/events/3146-flagstaff-city-council-member-austin-aslan-said-he