Every vote and quote on this site traces to a person, and every person here is listed by the next date voters can act on their record. That’s how this page is organized, because titles and promises are revisable, and election day is the one check officials can’t revise.
The headline: on November 3, 2026, four of the six councilmembers who voted yes on the RTIC are on the ballot (the mayor who ran the midnight meeting, and the three members whose seats are up), while the only no vote is running for mayor. So is the sheriff who built the county’s ~2,000-camera network. Early voting starts October 15. The full ballot view: Election 2026.
On the November 3, 2026 ballot
Mayor: the RTIC’s presiding officer vs. its only opponent:
| Role | Since | Surveillance record | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esther Manheimer | Mayor, seeking a 4th term | 2013 | Voted yes both RTIC items; ran the May 12 meeting where the vote happened off-mic; the three-by-three briefings happen under her gavel |
| Kim Roney | Council member, running for mayor | 2020 | The only no vote: every surveillance item since 2023, usually alone; submitted the 29 unanswered questions |
City Council: three seats, all three incumbents voted yes on the RTIC:
| Role | Since | Surveillance record | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antanette Mosley | Council member & Vice Mayor | 2020 (appointed) | Yes on the RTIC; asked the one ICE question at committee, accepted the answer |
| Sheneika Smith | Council member | 2017 | Yes on the RTIC, while asking the dais’s best skeptical questions (“a fine line between proactivity and profiling”), then “I kind of feel robbed,” then yes |
| Maggie Ullman | Council member | 2022 | Yes on the RTIC, after asking, unanswered, what happens if the federal government seizes the data |
| Drew Ball | County commissioner, running for council | 2024 | Challenger: stance tracking |
| Keith Young | Former council member (2015–2020), running again | — | Challenger: stance tracking |
| Jeffrey Burroughs | First-time candidate | — | Challenger: stance tracking |
Buncombe County Sheriff: the office that built the network Asheville plugged into:
| Role | Since | Surveillance record | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quentin Miller | Sheriff, seeking a 3rd term | 2018 | Built the ~2,000-camera Fusus network (~1,500 in schools); crime-drop claims his own SBI data undermines |
| Gary Parris | Republican nominee | — | Challenger: stance tracking |
Also on the ballot: Martin Moore (county commissioner; effectively incoming District Attorney, as no Republican filed); US House NC-11: Jamie Ager (D) vs. Jennifer Balkcom (R; substituted onto the ballot in August 2026 after Chuck Edwards, whose earmark funded the RTIC, withdrew following a House Ethics report; Edwards holds the seat, and the accountability, through January 2027); and three Buncombe school-board seats (Reynolds, Enka, Erwin districts), relevant because ~1,500 school cameras feed the sheriff’s network with no board vote I can find (Buncombe County).
Not on a ballot until November 2028
| Role | Since | Surveillance record | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sage Turner | Council member | 2020 | Yes on the RTIC; now on record that her condition (Flock removal) hasn’t been honored |
| Bo Hess | Council member; Public Safety Committee chair | 2024 | Yes: the RTIC’s most vocal advocate, chairing the committee that has never overseen it |
Two of the six yes votes answer to no one until 2028. Until then, the only check on them is the public record.
The unelected officials running it
The people running the apparatus day to day were never elected to anything; worth naming, because the system’s safeguards depend on their individual judgment:
| Role | Since | Why they’re here | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackie Stepp | Interim Police Chief (APD’s 5th chief in 11 years pending; permanent pick expected ~Sept 2026) | Nov 2025 | Sold the RTIC at five meetings; her full council argument, claim by claim with counters, is on her page. Made the 177K-camera admission and the 19K claim |
| D.K. Wesley | City Manager | Jan 2026 | Confirmed the Axon contract “does not exist yet,” then received sole authority to negotiate and sign it, and picks the next police chief |
| Jimmy Wingo | APD Law Enforcement Technology Manager | unpublished | The single approval gate for outside-agency data requests, per APD’s own testimony, in a role with no published bio, start date, or classification |
The people helping
Not everyone in this record holds power over the system. Some came to help residents understand it:
| Who they are | Connection to Asheville | |
|---|---|---|
| Benn Jordan | Independent researcher and musician; his Flock Safety investigations (exposed cameras, device vulnerabilities) were confirmed by national press | Came to Asheville May 25, 2026 for a public Q&A at CAMS’s RE:FUSUS event |
Also see The People Who Showed Up (the 36 residents who made the case at council) and Get Involved for the organizations doing the local work.
Profiles update as the record grows. See Election 2026 for the ballot view, The People Who Showed Up for the residents’ side of the record, and Timeline for the events these records come from.