WNC Surveillance Watch.

Esther Manheimer

6 min read

Title
Mayor, City of Asheville · attorney, Van Winkle Law Firm · manheimerformayor.com
In this role since
Dec 2013 (elected Nov 2013; council member 2009–2013; re-elected mayor 2017 and 2022)
Current term ends
Dec 2026
Next voter decision
Nov 3, 2026: seeking a 4th term against Kim Roney; March 3 primary: Manheimer 42.27%, Roney 33.43%, top two advanced (BPR) · Election 2026

Record on cameras and surveillance

  • January 24, 2023. Voted for the interlocal agreement joining the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Fusus camera network; passed 4 to 1 (WLOS).
  • March 25, 2025. Voted for the first RTIC grant after it was pulled from the consent agenda; passed 6 to 1. The meeting record.
  • April 14, 2026. After more than 40 residents came to speak and the $1.14 million grant item was pulled from the agenda, said the issue “warrants a full conversation before moving ahead” (BPR). The session that followed was the April 28 committee work session with Axon and Flock representatives presenting; it took no public comment.
  • May 12, 2026. Presided over the meeting that approved the RTIC grant and the 7.5-year Axon contract, 6 to 1, and voted yes. The item was reached late in the evening; 21 signed-up speakers were not reached. The meeting record.
  • May 28, 2026. At the first mayoral debate, on the cost question: the city already pays the sheriff’s office for Fusus access and “we received a grant from the federal government to be able to pay for our own.” On the transparency criticism: “That’s not a transparency issue. That’s a functioning issue.” (BPR)
  • August 19, 2026. Issued a statement calling for a vote at the Aug 25 meeting to authorize the city manager to terminate the Flock contract: “I have heard clearly from Asheville residents, and I’m calling on Asheville to turn off the Flock cameras and remove them, which requires terminating the Flock contract.” On a moratorium instead: “our contract does not allow for the removal of the technology unless we terminate the contract.” She also called for a transparent policy on handling and deleting the data collected, and said Interim Chief Stepp had “already begun this work.” (WLOS · 828newsnow)
  • August 20, 2026. Presenting the resolution at the agenda briefing, disclosed that Flock now requires ten cameras for system access, said removal requires termination because “the cameras are technically not ours,” and, asked by Roney about a staff memo on “expanding and integrating Axon’s automated license plate reader capabilities,” confirmed Axon stationary readers are “in the pipeline” while saying “the question around constitutional protection would come back into play.” To BPR the next day: “there are some legitimate concerns around Flock to the degree that I think it’s time that we terminate the contract and regroup” (BPR/WHQR, Aug 21, 2026).
  • August 25, 2026. Voted for the termination resolution, which passed 5 to 2. Answering Ullman’s question on whether the city had signed for Axon plate readers: “we did, that is one of the things that we voted for. But we haven’t put them up… We do not have stationary [Axon] license plate readers yet.” On the two vendors: Flock “has an integrated national system where the data does not appear to be secured in a way that any one community can have assurance that their data is not being shared,” while “Axon has what’s called a closed system or what I’m calling a closed system… We’ve never had stationary Axon LPRs before, so that’s something new that we need to look at.” When Roney moved a moratorium on new plate reader purchases minutes after the vote, she did not second it: “I’ve got enough faith in the manager to do what we just talked about.”
  • September 18, 2026. At the Radio Asheville mayoral forum (WPVM 103.7), asked what principles should decide when the city says yes or no to a public safety technology: “The mayors I talked to across this nation are working really hard to figure out how to get out of these Flock contracts because Flock has grown so large and their platform is so big. They’re now able to share their data all across the nation and we’re not able to make sure that privacy is being protected. And that’s why I wrote a resolution to terminate the Flock contract.” On cameras the city does not run: “we can only manage our cameras, but we work with all of these partners across our city to be able to help keep this community safe. And sometimes that means accessing school cameras or public housing cameras in partnership with them” (forum video, 21:15 and 22:05).

The check-in meetings

Manheimer attends all three of the small-group check-in sessions held before each council meeting, each sized at two members plus the mayor, with no notice and no minutes. When Asheville Watchdog reported the practice on January 17, 2023, she said: “If these check-ins are a barrier to folks having confidence that they’re getting all the information that the Council is receiving before it makes a decision, then I think we need to move away from that process” (Watchdog, via Mountain Xpress). On February 14, 2023, council voted unanimously to replace check-ins with public work sessions (Watchdog). In 2026 the city acknowledged holding budget check-ins with no agendas (WHQR/Mountain Xpress, June 30, 2026); she describes the practice as “permissible” per legal counsel and has said every member besides Roney supports it.

In her words

  • “I have heard clearly from Asheville residents, and I’m calling on Asheville to turn off the Flock cameras and remove them, which requires terminating the Flock contract.” (statement, Aug 19, 2026)
  • “That’s not a transparency issue. That’s a functioning issue.” (mayoral debate, May 28, 2026)
  • “I’ve got enough faith in the manager to do what we just talked about.” (council, Aug 25, 2026, declining to second the plate-reader moratorium)

What is pending with her

  • The itemized Axon quote and the 20-camera Fleet contract (row 12); the contract itself was posted in August 2026. As of Sept 23, 2026 she has taken no public position on posting the rest.
  • The community conversation the city manager said would precede any stationary Axon plate reader. No date has been set as of Sept 8, 2026.
  • Whether she would support making APD’s stated safeguards binding by ordinance. As of Sept 8, 2026, no public position.
  • On November 3, 2026 she faces Kim Roney, who voted no on each camera item since 2023 (Election 2026).

Region: Asheville · Last verified: September 8, 2026

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