- Title
- Buncombe County Commissioner, District 3 (per the county’s current roster; district lines were redrawn for 2026) · candidate for Asheville City Council · former Director of Environment North Carolina · volunteer firefighter
- In this role since
- December 2024 (elected Nov 2024)
- Current term ends
- — (not seeking commission re-election; redistricting placed him with a fellow incumbent)
- Next voter decision
- Nov 3, 2026: Asheville City Council general; led the March 3 primary (~16%) · Election 2026
Surveillance record
As a county commissioner, Ball sits on the body that funds the Sheriff’s ~1,800-camera Fusus network, the system Asheville’s RTIC extends. His one vote touching the network came on Oct 6, 2026: he moved to remove the sheriff’s $290,000 forfeiture request for the “FY27 FUSUS/Axon Contract” from the commissioners’ agenda, and the board agreed by voice vote. He stated no reason (county video, 0:02:53; the request). His first statement on the cameras was an Aug 14, 2026 interview with Mountain Xpress, published Sept 17; until Oct 8 this page dated it to the Sept 16 forum (Corrections). Nothing on his campaign site or campaign accounts (searched Aug 17 and Sept 17, 2026). His statements:
- Aug 14, 2026 (Mountain Xpress interview, published Sept 17). Asked how he would have handled the May 12 vote: “I’m glad that there’s a lot of conversation around it. I didn’t think the process of that Council meeting really did anybody justice. It didn’t serve the community well, being unrolled like that.” And: “We have to figure this out together.” The paper reports he called residents’ Fourth Amendment and privacy concerns valid, said body cameras and other measures have helped solve crimes, and called a citizen oversight committee an important next step (Mountain Xpress, Thomas Calder).
- Sept 16, 2026. Answered the surveillance and check-ins questions at the West Asheville council candidate forum; his words and audio are in the forum section below.
- Sept 28, 2026. At the WLOS council candidate forum, asked what the city should prioritize for public safety amid “ongoing questions about the use of surveillance and investigative technology and the protection of privacy and civil liberties”: “I think a key piece of that is surveillance and [Flock] cameras. And I think we need to ensure that these decisions are shaped by the community and they have safeguards and guardrails because public safety and constitutional rights don’t need to work against each other” (forum video, 26:42).
- Oct 6, 2026. Moved to remove the sheriff’s FUSUS/Axon forfeiture request from the commissioners’ agenda; seconded by Martin Moore; no reason stated.
At the Sept 16, 2026 candidate forum
Words are from an audience recording this site holds, with ums and repeats removed and nothing else changed; times are minutes into it. Every candidate’s answers are on the Sept 16 forum record.
On surveillance and the Flock vote (8:16)
“People are concerned about their privacy, they’re concerned about what’s appropriate. Are we being tracked? Is this a nationwide system that’s being built here? Those are really important questions.” (8:47)
“Do you all hear about the folks that were riding around shooting people with a paintball gun, particularly targeting homeless people? Flock cameras helped police find out where those kids were and stop them from doing that.” (9:25)
“There’s aspects where technology can be useful, but at the same time, you really need to think about how much privacy we’re willing to give up.” (9:43)
“We need to make sure we control our data so it’s not fed to a national network. We need closed loop systems that we control.” (10:09)
He said he had completed the Asheville Citizens Police Academy and a West Asheville ride-along (9:11), that a plate reader system would need audit logs (10:09; the word is garbled on the recording), and that he trusts APD: “I don’t trust the Trump administration or ICE” (10:22).
On three-person check-ins out of public view (57:39)
“3-by-3s have been permitted by law. Typically, the city or county will be looking for guidance on an HR matter that can cause concern if it’s discussed in public or a legal matter. But at the county level, I’m always really quick when we have a 3-by-3 to say, is there any reason we shouldn’t be doing this during the briefing?”
“I think doing these things in public is really critical.” (58:40)
In his words
- “We need to make sure we control our data so it’s not fed to a national network. We need closed loop systems that we control.” (candidate forum, Sept 16, 2026, 10:09)
- “I don’t trust the Trump administration or ICE.” (same, 10:22)
His Asheville DSA questionnaire response addressed ICE (families deserving “safety, not terror”) but said nothing about surveillance technology. His Chamber survey is likewise silent on it.
The question for him
He sits on the county body that funds the Fusus network and has not said whether the “closed loop systems that we control” he described include it. Will he say whether the Oct 6 removal is a position on the FUSUS/Axon payment, and how he would vote if it returns? Would he vote for a surveillance-oversight ordinance, and for a council vote before the fixed Axon readers already under contract go in (Promise Tracker)? See Election 2026 for the questions to ask.