Title: Deputy Chief, Operations, Asheville Police Department (more than 24 years with APD) Next voter decision: none
Surveillance record
Aardema’s name carries the most-cited immigration promise in the RTIC record: “We control Axon Fusus and we will not be sharing information with federal immigration,” reported by WLOS in its May 14, 2026 coverage of the vote (it is not on the May 12 recording itself; the site corrected that attribution in August) (2026-05-12 City Council · Promise Tracker · Who Gets Watched). Nothing in Policy 1703 repeats it; the policy’s sharing clause, copied from the county sheriff’s, allows disclosure “as permitted by law or with a compelling need” (The RTIC Policy). State law forbids the city from adopting a policy that limits communicating immigration-status information to federal agencies (What the Law Lets the County Do). The promise, in other words, is personal.
The other seat
Aardema is also a commissioner on the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville’s board, appointed by the mayor. At HACA’s May 20, 2026 meeting he made and seconded motions on the same agenda where his chief presented the RTIC and announced a HACA seat on its policy board; no commissioner asked a question (minutes · Ella Santos). The ~500 cameras in public housing are the network’s largest non-school block (Watching the Poor).
The question for him
Where is it written, and what happens to it when he or the chief changes?
Region: Asheville · Last updated: Aug 22, 2026