Know this now, Barry Connell and Ed Cameron will be getting votes from me in November.
I'm a fan of both anyway, but I'm extremely pleased with the way both have addressed the issue of placing police cameras downtown.
First, Barry Connell.
He's been the only person to consistently question the need for the three and soon to be four police cameras downtown, and I appreciate his willingness to speak. I've had concerns myself. I've wondered if the cameras were necessary, and what sort of precedent we're setting with their presence.
Conversations with friends led me to put away - but not throw away - my concerns. I concede cameras provide efficient coverage of our downtown, but I want assurances that the cameras stay there.
And that's where friend, neighbor and right-now Ward 4 Councilor Ed Cameron comes in.
Cameron, in my opinion, has
devised a reasonable plan.
In the age of technology, when cameras are becoming more commonplace for such purposes, Councilor Ed Cameron is seeking to ink a new law into the city's ordinances that will require no more be erected for surveillance of the public without getting a review and permission of the mayor and City Council.
"All I want is for there to be some type of public input every time there's going to be a permanent camera installed for surveillance purposes," Cameron said.
Is this a perfect plan? Probably not. People who still have valid concerns about police surveillance won't be happy. But this would at least foster discussion over the inevitable plans to add more cameras in the future as improving technologies and declining prices make them even more attractive to police.
