S.F. Democratic Party stands behind Flock surveillance cameras in vote

San Francisco’s Democratic County Central Committee voted to maintain its support for Flock automated license-plate reader cameras, adopting a resolution from committee chair Nancy Tung and Supervisor Matt Dorsey rather than a proposal from former Supervisor Gordon Mar that urged tighter guardrails and possible suspension of the city’s contract. Of the roughly 18 members who participated, Dorsey’s measure passed with 11 votes in favor, 4 abstentions and 3 against. Debate acknowledged documented misuse of Flock data - more than 1.6 million unauthorized accesses in 2024-25 and at least about 300 out-of-state illegal searches admitted by the police department last year - and noted that other Bay Area cities have deactivated or moved to cancel Flock contracts after reports of outside agencies, including federal actors, querying the system.

Concerns over privacy and surveillance clashed with arguments that the cameras aid investigations; committee members expressed both worries about data security and about crime. Two committee members who work for Flock, Lily Ho and Trevor Chandler, participated in the vote despite potential conflicts and a prior subcommittee decision that removed an earlier version of Mar’s resolution from the agenda. The committee lacks formal conflict-of-interest rules for matters like this, but members noted the outcome would not have shifted without those two votes. The party’s resolutions carry informal influence only; a formal decision on contract renewal rests with the Board of Supervisors, which may revisit the issue in February 2027.