We Wrote to 14 Officials. Two Answered.

Three weeks ago, on behalf of the residents who have signed our petition, we sent a letter to fourteen elected offices across the Cape Fear: our entire state legislative delegation and all four New Hanover–area beach-town councils. We asked one plain, nonpartisan question — the same one we ask every candidate and official, regardless of party: Where do you stand on Flock and ALPR mass surveillance, and will you act to end warrantless plate-tracking of people suspected of nothing?

We published every letter the day we sent it. (Read them here.) Three weeks later, here is the record.

Two answered — and we thank them.

Rep. Deb Butler responded, and told us where she stands: “I do not support their use without stringent safeguards. And I will offer legislation to do just that.” She recognizes narrow, legitimate uses, but given the abuses now documented she opposes ALPR use without safeguards and says she will file a bill to require them. That is what representation requires — she engaged a constituent question and answered it plainly. We credit that. (Her full statement →)

The Town of Leland responded to tell us, on the record, that it does not run Flock cameras. That is a real answer, and a welcome one — Leland was pitched a system and confirmed it never adopted one.

The other twelve have not.

Silence, so far, from Sen. Michael Lee, Sen. Brent Jackson, and Sen. Bill Rabon; Rep. Ted Davis, Rep. Charles Miller, Rep. Frank Iler, Rep. Carson Smith, Rep. William Brisson, and Rep. Brenden Jones; and from the Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Wrightsville Beach councils. Wrightsville Beach has simply ignored the letter.

That is one office in seven willing to answer a written question from the people they serve.

We didn’t stop at the letter.

This wasn’t a single email fired into a void. We followed up publicly, by name, on social media, asking these officials to simply say where they stand. And we didn’t just write to Carolina Beach — we showed up in person at the Town, and asked. Still no response.

And this is not a fringe ask in these towns. Fifty-four Carolina Beach residents — roughly one in every 120 people in town — have signed our petition, a base of opposition on par, per capita, with the New Hanover County that just voted 4–0 to cancel its own Flock contract. The Council has heard from them, in writing and in person. It still won’t answer.

Beyond the fourteen — the ones who did stand up.

This tally is about the fourteen offices we wrote to. But the larger question — who in the Cape Fear has been willing to say where they stand on Flock — has a longer and more encouraging answer, and it deserves saying in the same breath. Silence is a choice precisely because so many others made the opposite one.

New Hanover County’s commissioners answered in the strongest way there is — with a vote. On September 8 they voted to terminate the county’s Flock contract on a motion by Commissioner Dane Scalise, seconded by Chair LeAnn Pierce, with Rob Zapple and Stephanie Walker joining — unanimous among every member present, with only Commissioner Bill Rivenbark absent. That is a position, on the record, with consequences. (What the vote does — and doesn’t.)

And a growing list of candidates put their positions in writing when many would not. For the District 20 House seat, both Dane Scalise and Tim Merrick oppose Flock. The three challengers for county commissioner — Dr. Wallace, Bob Drach, and Richard Collier — have all said they oppose the program. In the Senate District 7 race, Jessica Bichler answered our questions in writing, opposing statewide ALPR expansion and calling for a warrant to search the data. Board of Education member David Perry has called it a Fourth Amendment violation. And Rep. Deb Butler, as above, answered too. (Every position we’ve collected →)

We name them because the contrast is the whole point: answering a question about a surveillance system is not hard. These people did it. The twelve offices still silent could do the same tomorrow.

Why this matters.

We are not left or right. We ask every official the same question, and plenty have answered — Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians alike have told voters where they stand. That is all this requires. A constituent question about a surveillance system that logs where everyone drives is not a hard one to acknowledge. It deserves a reply.

Silence is a choice, and on a question like this, it is not a neutral one. Silence is not governance.

We will keep the record public, and we will keep it current. The moment any of these offices responds, we will say so — in full, unedited, right next to the letter we sent. We would much rather report a “yes,” or even a “no,” than another week of nothing.

Ask them yourself — one click → The running scorecard →