Aaron Brockett
Role at the time: Mayor of Boulder and mayoral candidate, Colorado
Statement summary
In Boulder Reporting Lab's candidate questionnaire, Mayor Aaron Brockett, who is running for reelection, said he would not end the city's automated license plate readers unilaterally and that the city has added safeguards on sharing and retention. He said he supports a community conversation in early 2027 to decide whether to continue or end their use, and state legislation mandating additional safeguards.
“I wouldn't end them unilaterally, but ALPR's have justifiably come under significant scrutiny over data privacy issues. We have added many safeguards to the system to make sure data is only shared for legitimate reasons, that only the minimum amount of data is kept and for a short period of time, and that data is shared only with a small percentage of Colorado law enforcement agencies and never with the Federal government. To address community concerns, I support the city manager's plan to have a community conversation on the topic in the early part of 2027 and make a decision with the community about whether to continue or end ALPR use. I also support state legislation mandating additional safeguards and guardrails on their use.”
Why we used this label
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Brockett says he would not end the readers unilaterally, describes safeguards the city has added, and supports a community decision on whether to continue or end their use along with state guardrails. That leaves continued use open to a local decision, which fits Mixed or conditional and Guardrails on the remedy ladder. The closest competing label is Defended or excused, which would fit an argument that the readers are justified as they stand; he says they have "justifiably come under significant scrutiny" and leaves the decision to the community.