Sharilyn Ray's campaign says she would bar Flock Safety from Kansas state agencies and cancel contracts
Sharilyn RayIndependent candidate for governor of Kansas, in an emailed statement from her campaign
Sharilyn Ray's campaign for Kansas governor told Dispute Index by email that she would prohibit the use of Palantir Technologies and Flock Safety across every office and agency under the governor's authority and cancel existing contracts with them. It said mass surveillance is incompatible with Kansans' rights and that automated license plate readers are not the proper role of government.
“Dr. Sharilyn Ray will prohibit the use of Palantir Technologies and Flock Safety across every office and agency under the governor's authority. Existing contracts with these vendors will be canceled.”
Emailed statement
Read the full email
Dr. Sharilyn Ray will prohibit the use of Palantir Technologies and Flock Safety across every office and agency under the governor's authority. Existing contracts with these vendors will be canceled. Mass surveillance is incompatible with the rights of the people of Kansas. Automated license plate readers and camera-based monitoring of ordinary citizens are not the proper role of government. Kansans should not be tracked simply for going about their daily lives. If anyone deserves greater scrutiny, it is not the public. Dr. Ray will fight for transparency in government, starting with the closed-door dealmaking between state officials and large corporations.
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
Emailed statement
Emailed statement from Sharilyn Ray's campaign to Dispute Index on license plate readers
Dr. Sharilyn Ray will prohibit the use of Palantir Technologies and Flock Safety across every office and agency under the governor's authority. Existing contracts with these vendors will be canceled. Mass surveillance is incompatible with the rights of the people of Kansas. Automated license plate readers and camera-based monitoring of ordinary citizens are not the proper role of government. Kansans should not be tracked simply for going about their daily lives. If anyone deserves greater scrutiny, it is not the public. Dr. Ray will fight for transparency in government, starting with the closed-door dealmaking between state officials and large corporations.
About this source
Sharilyn Ray's campaign sent this unsigned statement, written in the third person, by email from its [email protected] address in reply to a Dispute Index request about license plate readers. The link is to her campaign website; the statement itself is not published there.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Dispute Index asked Ray where she stands on Flock-style license plate cameras. Her campaign replied by email with a statement written in the third person.
After the quotation
The campaign continued, "Mass surveillance is incompatible with the rights of the people of Kansas. Automated license plate readers and camera-based monitoring of ordinary citizens are not the proper role of government." It said Ray would push for transparency about "closed-door dealmaking between state officials and large corporations."
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. The campaign says Ray would prohibit Flock Safety across state agencies and cancel existing contracts, which rejects the network's use, so we labeled it Condemned with the Ban or remove step.
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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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- Sharilyn Ray's campaign says she would bar Flock Safety from Kansas state agencies and cancel contracts
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The Dispute Index. "Sharilyn Ray's campaign says she would bar Flock Safety from Kansas state agencies and cancel contracts". First published: 2026-10-01. Last updated: 2026-10-01. https://disputeindex.com/events/3994-sharilyn-ray-s-campaign-for-kansas-governor-told