Bo Hess

Title

Asheville City Council member; chair of the Public Safety Committee; behavioral-health provider and social worker

In this role since

December 2, 2024 (elected November 2024, first term)

Current term ends

December 2028

Next voter decision

not on the ballot until November 2028 (Election 2026)

Next meeting where he acts

the Public Safety Committee, which he chairs; it meets the last Thursday of odd months at 11 AM, online (livestream).

Next meeting and how to comment

Date

Thursday, Sept 24

Time

1:00 PM

Body

Asheville City Council Public Safety Committee

Place

Remote meeting (virtual, per NC Gen. Stat. 166A-19.24(f)); livestream on Engagement Hub or the City's YouTube Channel, call-in (855) 925-2801 code 11543

How to comment

Live call-in comments during the public comment period: (855) 925-2801, code 11543, then press * and select option 3. Pre-recorded voicemail comments accepted at the same number/code until 5:00 p.m. the day before the meeting. Written comments to publicsafetycommittee@PublicInput.com, also closing 5:00 p.m. the day before.

Status

Held; the account.

Record on cameras and surveillance

• March 25, 2025. Voted yes on the first grant for the Real-Time Intelligence Center (RTIC), $71,999, on the consent agenda (the meeting record). Speaking for it, he said the center “already exists” and that the funding buys “basic infrastructure like desk, chairs, workstations” (32:30). Later in the same meeting, Chief Lamb said APD did not yet have “the Fusus software… or the finalized agreement with Axon.” He also said “Over 95% of our APD officers are trained in crisis intervention” (37:05); the last figure the department had published was 90 percent.
• July 31, 2025, Public Safety Committee. Said license plate readers “would actually eliminate a lot of the bias from officers… they wouldn’t be pulling over like profiling” (the committee’s record).
• November 2025. When immigration enforcement operations were expected in Asheville, he said, “I stand firmly for our constitutional rights, for the safety of every resident and for the dignity of every person who calls Asheville home,” relayed that “We received that information from Governor Josh Stein. We were told that several vans would be brought to Asheville,” and told residents “You are not alone, and you belong here” (WLOS).
• May 7, 2026, agenda briefing. On the plan to keep one Flock camera: “that one Flock camera is a strategic public safety move,” and removing all of them “puts every single 100,000 residents at risk”; the plan would hold “until Axon has the type of database that we can access like Flock” (the briefing record). On how he came to support the center: “I had to sit with public safety officials, IT folks, tour the place. I had to like hear things over and over before I really started to understand it.”
• May 12, 2026. Voted yes on the $1.14 million federal grant and the 7.5-year Axon contract (the meeting record), and authored the civil-liberties resolution passed the same night, which states the technology will be used “solely for lawful purposes, which are intended to enhance or provide for public safety.” The resolution carries no reporting duty and no penalty (BPR).
• Aug 20, 2026, agenda briefing. “The RTIC and Flock are two different things. RTIC is a real-time, emergency-activated system… This is not general surveillance… only activated when there is an emergency or someone calls 911,” and: “I don’t think we should come up here and spin and lie, especially in a time when everyone is so anxious” (the briefing record, 1:06:45). Policy 1703, the RTIC’s written policy released that morning, says staff “may monitor relevant cameras” “based on crime trends or active incidents” and assigns staff to “public events, large crowds, and special operations” (The RTIC Policy).
• Aug 21, 2026. Told BPR he opposed early termination of the Flock contract and supported APD’s planned shift to Axon plate readers: body cameras are “what keeps everybody safe,” and Axon “holds… officers accountable” (BPR and WHQR).
• Aug 25, 2026. Voted yes to terminate the Flock contract (the meeting record). From his statement: “ending one [vendor’s] contract is not the same as rejecting responsible technology, and I will not personally allow this decision to become a back door to weakening or defunding the [Asheville] Police Department… I plan on allowing our law enforcement to have every single tool at their [disposal].” He listed safeguards as already in place: “restricted access which we have… short retention periods which we have, controlled data sharing which we have… regular audits which we have.” Promise Tracker carries each of those against its source. He endorsed reviving a police oversight commission that would report to the Public Safety Committee. He did not second the motion for a moratorium on new plate reader purchases; no member did.
• The committee’s record, May 2025 to July 2026. Across the seven recorded meetings of the Public Safety Committee under his chairmanship, no RTIC audit was requested and no post-approval briefing was received. The July 29, 2026 agenda and recording carry no item on RTIC implementation, the Flock wind-down, or the quarterly audits (the committee’s record). The committee’s questions on ICE agreements came from Antanette Mosley and on profiling from Sheneika Smith.

The claims in these statements are checked against the record on Asheville’s RTIC claims and the record.

In his words

At the March 25, 2025 council meeting, arguing for the first RTIC funding (BPR, Mar 26, 2025):

“When you actually responsibly deploy technology like drones and real time intelligence, what you do is you actually de-escalate the risk for officers and our citizens.” And: “You’re removing the need to send an officer blindly into a dangerous situation and that lowers the chance of use-of-force incidents.” On Durham: “They didn’t throw out public safety, they modernized it.”

What is pending with him

• The audit reports that G.S. 20-183.31(a)(7) requires of any agency running plate readers: whether the Public Safety Committee will ask APD for them at its next meeting (Promise Tracker, row 4).
• Whether the civil-liberties resolution he authored becomes an ordinance with a reporting duty. He is its author.

Residents who want either on the record can write to him at bohess@avlcouncil.com or speak at the committee (Speak at Council).

Region: Asheville · Last verified: September 8, 2026