Mosley backs carefully regulated public-safety tools and says she cannot support the resolution ending Asheville's Flock contract
Antanette MosleyVice mayor of Asheville (North Carolina), running for reelection to City Council
At the Asheville City Council's August 25, 2026 meeting, Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley said she has concerns about Flock, including privacy, data sharing, civil liberties and accountability, and that she supports carefully regulated public-safety tools that are effective, necessary and accompanied by safeguards. She said the resolution may end a contract but does not settle the larger questions about license-plate readers, and that she could not support it in its current form. She voted no.
“I want to be clear that I have concerns about Flock. I have concerns about privacy, data sharing, civil liberties, and accountability. ... I support carefully regulated public-safety tools when they are effective, necessary, and accompanied by meaningful safeguards and accountability. ... this resolution may terminate a contract, but it does not resolve the larger issue before us. ... I cannot support this resolution in its current form tonight.”
Original text
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
Original text
About this source
Official minutes of the City of Asheville City Council meeting of August 25, 2026, posted by the city on its council minutes archive. The Flock item is New Business item A, Resolution 26-180, which directs the city manager to terminate the city's contract with Flock Safety for its 11 stationary license plate readers. The minutes quote council members in quotation marks and summarize other remarks in the clerk's words. The council approved these minutes on its September 8, 2026 consent agenda.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Earlier in the item, Mosley read part of an email from Ella Santos, chief executive officer of the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville, who wrote that residents want cameras and more security. The minutes then record 24 speakers urging the council to end the Flock contract and to pause all plate-reader use and purchases, and two speakers opposing termination.
After the quotation
Councilwoman Sheneika Smith spoke next and also said she would vote no. The resolution passed 5-2, with Mosley and Smith casting the two no votes.
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. Mosley voiced concerns about Flock, said she supports carefully regulated public-safety tools that are effective and necessary, and voted against ending the contract. Backing regulated use with safeguards rather than ending it fits Mixed or conditional, and we placed it at Guardrails on the remedy ladder. The closest competing label is Defended or excused, which would fit a defense of current use; she raised concerns about Flock itself.
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The Dispute Index. "Mosley backs carefully regulated public-safety tools and says she cannot support the resolution ending Asheville's Flock contract". First published: 2026-10-07. Last updated: 2026-10-07. https://disputeindex.com/events/5027-at-the-asheville-city-council-s-august-25