League City Voters Reject Flock License-Plate Cameras
Unofficial results show Proposition A failing 25,538 to 21,744. The mayor ordered cameras bagged, with removal due after the Nov. 17 canvass.
League City voters told city leaders to pull the plug on fixed automated license plate reader cameras. Unofficial combined returns from Galveston and Harris counties show Proposition A failing, and the mayor has already ordered the cameras covered.
According to the city's elections page, the ballot asked: "As a nonbinding statement of voter preference, should the League City Police Department continue using automated license plate reader cameras at fixed locations on public roadways for law enforcement purposes?" The unofficial city tally is 25,538 No and 21,744 Yes, or 54.01% against and 45.99% for. By our math, that is a margin of 3,794 votes. The city says the results remain unofficial until the Nov. 17 canvass.
Galveston County's Clarity elections site, last updated at 11:20:27 p.m. CST on Nov. 3 with 29 of 29 League City precincts reporting in that county, shows the same outcome: 25,021 No and 21,412 Yes. The city notes that League City ballots were also cast in Harris County, which is why its combined table is slightly higher.
League City Police Department headquarters, June 2021. Photo: Jim Evans / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What happens next
The proposition was labeled nonbinding, but the City Council had already set a removal plan. In a Nov. 4 statement, the city said it will follow a resolution approved Oct. 27 that calls for removing the cameras within 72 hours after the official canvass on Nov. 17.
Mayor Nick Long asked staff to cover or bag the city's ALPR cameras at fixed spots on public roads right away. Once bagged, League City police can no longer collect new plate data or share it with outside agencies. The city says data already collected is purged after 30 days unless it is held as evidence in an active case, and the same 30-day rule applies to data previously shared unless it was preserved for a case.
The city manager is directed to review agreements with Flock Safety, pursue amendments, termination or nonrenewal as needed, and bring any deal that needs council approval back for a vote. Staff are also told to find cameras put up by homeowners associations in city rights-of-way and set removal deadlines, and to recommend how leftover public-safety money should be spent once contract costs are covered.
The rest of the ballot
The same unofficial city results show Mayor Nick Long reelected with 66.14% over Tom Crews. Tommy Cones, Sean Doyle and Sean Saunders won council seats. Position 3 is headed to a Dec. 12 runoff between Robert Bruce and Seth Rowlands. Position 1 may also need a runoff; Gordon Bethel is just under 50% in the current count.
City Hall is at 300 W. Walker, League City, Texas 77573. The main number is (281) 554-1000. The City Secretary's office, which handles election questions, can be reached at (281) 554-1030.
League City was the first Texas city to put fixed Flock-style cameras to a public vote this way. Nearby, Harris County has already unplugged its Flock cameras. For now, the local message is clear: bag them, then take them down.
Our view
Voters weighed safety tools against constant roadside surveillance and chose the latter off their streets. That is a fair call in a free country. City Hall should finish the bagging, cancel what it can cancel, and put any leftover dollars into patrol work people can see.
Hero photo: League City City Hall, photographed in May 2010. Photo: Nsaum75 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
