Documented Incident
Flock ALPR and ICE enforcement split six Encinitas candidates at voter forum
Event: September 18, 2026 · First reported: September 19, 2026 · 2 sources
At a League of Women Voters North County, San Diego forum held at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church before roughly 150 attendees, the six candidates for Encinitas mayor and the District 3 and District 4 council seats divided over the city's use of Flock license plate reading cameras and over federal immigration enforcement. District 4 Councilmember Marco San Antonio said he backs red-light cameras but opposes Flock systems because they collect more data on residents; mayoral candidate Rimga Viskanta called for updated policies and limited law enforcement access to images. District 3 candidate Arielle Golden and District 4 candidate Brad Lefkowits each said they had met with the Sheriff's captain overseeing the Encinitas station and still had concerns, with Golden questioning how the vendor may use collected data and Lefkowits saying his initial instinct is that pausing camera use could be warranted. Candidates also disagreed on ICE activity, with Mayor Bruce Ehlers citing a city web page tracking reported arrests and Golden saying ICE is tearing the community apart.
Encinitas voters will decide on Nov. 3 among candidates who differ on whether to continue, restrict, or pause automated license plate reader use, making local ALPR oversight an explicit election issue. The debate also reflects wider questions in California about who can access plate data and how vendors handle it.
Key facts
- Six candidates are running for three Encinitas offices — mayor, District 3 and District 4 council seats — on the Nov. 3 ballot.
- The forum was sponsored by the League of Women Voters North County, San Diego and drew about 150 people.
- Councilmember Marco San Antonio said he supports red-light cameras but not Flock systems, citing privacy concerns.
- Candidates Arielle Golden and Brad Lefkowits said they met with the Sheriff's captain managing the Encinitas station and retained concerns; Lefkowits raised the idea of pausing camera use.
- Mayor Bruce Ehlers said the city posts ICE arrest information online but has not received a strong response to its information requests to the federal government.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Flock camera system use, ICE enforcement issues divide Encinitas candidates (Headtopics, September 19, 2026)
- Flock camera system use, ICE enforcement issues divide Encinitas candidates (San Diego Union-Tribune, September 19, 2026)
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About this record
BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.
Updated September 22, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.