Rick Beard says Flock cameras should be voter approved or taken down
Rick BeardLegal Marijuana Now Party candidate for governor of Nebraska, in an emailed statement
In an emailed statement, Beard said he would rather the state spend money fixing potholes than on cameras that watch drivers, and that Flock cameras need to be voter approved or taken down.
“I would rather have the state spend money on fixing the damn potholes instead of spending money to watch us drive over them. Flock cameras need to be voter approved or taken down.”
Emailed statement
Read the full email
Sorry for my late reply..... I would rather have the state spend money on fixing the damn potholes instead of spending money to watch us drive over them. Flock cameras need to be voter approved or taken down. Thanks, Rick Beard R
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 Rick Beard to Dispute Index on Flock license-plate cameras
Sorry for my late reply..... I would rather have the state spend money on fixing the damn potholes instead of spending money to watch us drive over them. Flock cameras need to be voter approved or taken down. Thanks, Rick Beard R
About this source
Rick Beard sent this statement in reply to a Dispute Index request for comment, from the address listed on the contact page of his campaign website. The link is to the Rick Beard for Governor campaign website.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Dispute Index asked the Beard campaign whether Beard supports, opposes or wants changes to the use of Flock-style license plate camera networks in Nebraska. The reply came by email on October 17, 2026, after requests on September 30, October 4 and October 16.
After the quotation
The reply was signed Rick Beard and sent from the address listed on his campaign website's contact page.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to whether networked license-plate surveillance should exist, Beard objects to the state spending money on cameras that watch drivers and says Flock cameras need to be voter approved or taken down, so we labeled it Condemned. On the remedy ladder this is Guardrails, the milder of the two remedies he names, because voter approval would let communities keep the cameras.
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- 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. "Rick Beard says Flock cameras should be voter approved or taken down". First published: 2026-10-19. Last updated: 2026-10-19. https://disputeindex.com/events/6085-in-an-emailed-statement-beard-said-he-would