Aquiles La Grave is a Boulder, Colorado, entrepreneur who co-founded Bars.com and is its chief product officer. He has served on local boards including the Louisville Historic Preservation Commission and the Boulder Valley School District's Bond Oversight Committee, and he led the Save Iris Fields coalition. He is a candidate for mayor of Boulder in 2026.
Case
Networked automated license-plate cameras can assemble searchable records of vehicle movements. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to ban the systems, keep them with limits, or defend them as investigative tools. This tracker separates outright bans from narrower restrictions.
Role at the time: Entrepreneur and candidate for mayor of Boulder
Statement summary
Aquiles La Grave asked how Boulder can be a sanctuary city while using AI-assisted mass surveillance from a company with a checkered record of sharing data with federal agencies, and said the council has accepted that the contract is administrative and outside its say.
“How does the city explain being a sanctuary city at the same time as having AI-assisted mass surveillance with a company that has, at best, a checkered track record of sharing that information with the very agencies that we’re trying to protect our immigrants from? Council feels comfortable enough with being told by the city manager that that’s an administrative contract, and therefore, they have no say in it.”
The reference point is whether networked license-plate camera systems such as Flock should exist and be used. La Grave questions how Boulder can be a sanctuary city while using AI-assisted mass surveillance from a company with a checkered record on data sharing, and faults the council for not asserting control over the contract; he criticizes the arrangement and seeks oversight without calling to end the cameras.
Statement dates: July 26, 2026
Statement dates: July 26, 2026
Statement dates: July 26, 2026
Statement dates: July 26, 2026
