March 27, 2026

The question is twofart I presume. What

will you do about flock cameras? Will

you or will you not get rid and for

background flop cameras are the AI

powered cameras such as license plate

readers um that store data um for up to

30 days and help are used to help um

reduce crime. HOAs use them as well. So

what will you do about block cameras?

Will you or will you not get rid of

them? And we will start with Dr. H.

Okay, real go quick. So, I think that we

have gone overboard with surveillance.

I think that we can there's always going

to be a need that we can justify the use

of surveillance, but there has to be a

balance. Um, yes, is it important to

solve crime? Absolutely. How are we?

we've been able to solve crimes with

other resources and I think it's such a

slippery slope. Um, one of the

challenges to me with um, our camera

systems um, and not just that but even

when I think of like our real time crime

center and things like that, we can't

seem to use this when let's just say a

person an elderly person goes missing,

okay? Or when we really need these

resources. So when we start pairing

surveillance just to solve crime, we

will that slope becomes very slippery

and before you know it, then we are in a

surveile community and more than likely

poor communities are the ones being

impacted by that. Thank you so much.

>> Ladies and gentlemen, AI will be with us

forever and always. So we have to adjust

our lives to that. Uh I think the

question said will you decide to stop

them or the question has to be raised

the implementation of them in the first

place. I would then I cannot answer from

this side but I would analyze if it's

successful the stats what what are we

saying? What does public s public safety

say and uh and if any decision is to be

made that mayor puts it on the agenda

the commissioner has the review and they

make the vote. But I support that our

community remains safe and we maintain

uh a safe community for all people but

without biasness. And so uh that's my

take on it as a candidate from this side

of the seat.

I've spoken to a few people downtown

where they tell me that there have been

fights and brawls and a lot of

situations that are problematic. And I

asked them, well, what what happened to

the police? And they said, well, we

don't see any police presence. So, when

I look when I think about the block

cameras, yes, you know, anything can be

misused, but we're going to have to

decide, you know, are we going to want

police more police presence or are we

going to not want police presence and

put cameras because either way, we have

to, you know, address the crime in our

community. So, it's either one way or

the other. You know, I am for more

police presence and training them more

and giving them the tools that they need

to be in the community. Whether that is

getting them from within another

community and having them live here or

engaging in the community. But we really

need need either less block cameras and

more police officers or are you going to

decide to have less police officers and

more plot cameras? And I think that's a

conversation that we need to have with

some followup action.

>> Mr. Johnson,

>> I do oppose the use of the flop cameras

here. Here's the thing is those cameras

are recording all of us here in this

room right now. Our license plates where

we go. Did y'all do something wrong on

your way here? Are y'all going to commit

a crime on your on your way home from

here?

>> No, we're not. So why are we being

surveiled?

Um it's a thing we really need to think

about. Uh our privacy is important.

Every affinity's privacy is important.

Uh, and it is a very slippery slope,

especially right when it's one thing to

have these cameras, but then you're

hiring a giant corporation, for-profit

corporation to not only run those

cameras, but also to hold the data that

has your pictures of you, your family,

your cars, your license plate in it, and

then who knows what where they decide

they might want to sell it to. I mean, a

big thing that's coming up is that

shopping centers and stores will start

using this this data. So when they see

you walk in and walk down an aisle, all

of a sudden the digital prices go up

because they know that you've paid a

higher price for that product.

>> So much Mr. D.

>> It's not fair to us and that's why

county should not be that

>> and laughing Mr. Fisher.

>> So with the um Flock Hamburg and the

real time crime science,

we had two assaults downtown in the last

two weeks. LA got raped. Another got

assaulted. Those individuals was caught

within 24 hours. Those cameras are not

there. Those people are probably still

on the street. I want to push back a

little bit on Dr. G. There was a young

lady, a student who was sleepwalking

downtown. Didn't know I mean we found

her on the real time crime center. She

she could have got hit. Anything could

have happened, but the officers found

her, brought her home safe. So things

like that is critical especially the

families and the people that we serve.

So we got we can't have it both ways.

Can't say we won't we won't have safety

but then you know then who you going to

call. So you know you got to balance

that.

>> Thank you so much candidates. That ends

the portion of the live audience

question we didn't get to. Oh one more.

She was named.

>> She was named. So, we will give 30

seconds. My apologies.

>> Um, I just want to follow up and say

that there is always we can always

justify the use of surveillance.

We can always justify the use of

surveillance. There are thousands of

people that go through downtown,

thousands of people in Athens, tens of

thousands of people that do not commit

crime. And I don't want you to leave

here thinking that we keep hearing

safety. People will use safety to get an

emotional reaction and to get you to

Thank you, Dr. G. We are now moving to

the closing statements of our

candidates.