Bandera City Council member Jeff Flowers released a new public letter Friday, May 22, defending his earlier comments regarding the city’s canceled Flock Safety camera program and arguing critics had misinterpreted his remarks as literal proposals rather than satire.
The letter follows Flowers’ May 13 public statement, titled The Bandera Declaration of Digital Independence, which drew local and national attention after proposing a series of sweeping technology bans following the council’s decision to terminate the city’s agreement with Flock Safety Systems.
The original statement was released one day after the Bandera City Council voted 3-2 to terminate the contract with the license plate reader company. Flowers and council member Lynn Palmer voted against ending the agreement.
Among the proposals outlined in the earlier statement were a ban on smartphones and GPS-enabled devices within city limits, a prohibition on residential and commercial outward-facing cameras and elimination of internet services and electronic record-keeping in favor of paper systems.
In Friday’s letter, Flowers said the earlier statement was intended as satire modeled after A Modest Proposal, the 1729 essay by Jonathan Swift that used intentionally exaggerated and provocative policy proposals to criticize prevailing political and social attitudes.
Flowers argued his own proposals were intended to highlight what he described as contradictions in public opposition to license plate reader technology.
Flowers also responded to criticism and allegations surrounding the debate, denied receiving financial incentives connected to the camera vendor and reiterated his position that canceling the agreement created both public safety and financial consequences for the city.
The letter further argued that automated license plate readers are constitutional because there is no expectation of privacy on public roads and cited recent events in the Austin area as an example of why he believes the technology should remain available to law enforcement.
Flowers also tied his position to broader state and national law enforcement priorities and urged residents to evaluate the issue through a public safety lens.
The full text of Flowers’ Friday letter follows:
“To the Citizens of Bandera:
"Last week, following the City Council’s 3-2 vote to terminate our fully funded state grant for public safety cameras, I published a piece utilizing a classic literary device known as a ‘Modest Proposal.’ It was a satirical mirror meant to highlight a glaring contradiction: the idea that we can demand absolute privacy on public roads while carrying GPS trackers in our pockets and pointing security cameras at our neighbors' sidewalks.
"Predictably, the vocal minority and several national media outlets completely missed the satire. Instead, it triggered a wave of unhinged, anonymous cyber-bullying, vulgar insults, and outright fabrications sent to my inbox. Local political cartoonists have even labeled my stance as ‘political suicide.’ This may be true for politicians that soley vote to get re-elected, but my core beliefs and how I vote on municipal issues are based on the long-term well-being of this community, not on whether I think I will get re-elected. I did not run for City Council to protect a title; I ran to protect Bandera.
"Let’s map out the cold, hard facts:
• Regarding the ‘Bribe’ Conspiracies: I have never received a single dollar, kickback, or incentive from Flock Safety or any other technology vendor. To those hiding behind anonymous Proton Mail accounts sending me vulgar threats: your conspiracies are a fiction born out of an inability to debate real policy.
• The Fiscal Reality: The opposition campaigned on ‘fiscal responsibility.’ Here is the truth: the Flock system was 100% funded by a state grant. By canceling the contract, this council didn’t save you money, they threw away free state funds and spent $15,000 of your local property tax dollars out-of-pocket just to break the lease. That is a terrible business deal for Bandera.
• The Public Safety and Constitutional Reality: This isn’t a theoretical debate, and it is entirely constitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court has long established that there is no expectation of privacy for a vehicle traveling on a public road, a precedent federal and state courts repeatedly use to uphold fixed-location plate readers. Just days ago in Travis County, active shooters in a stolen vehicle terrorized neighborhoods. Liberal-led Austin couldn't track them because their council previously caved to the exact same ‘surveillance’ rhetoric we are hearing in Bandera. The criminals were only caught because they crossed into Manor, Texas, a community that uses this exact technology to protect its borders.
"We live in a town that proudly aligns itself with core Texas values, frequently telling those with left-leaning ideas to ‘move back to California.’ Yet, when it comes to keeping our community safe, the vocal opposition is actively choosing to copy progressive Austin's exact security failures.
"I fully support the law-and-order vision championed by President Trump and Governor Abbott—a vision built on robust policies designed to secure our communities and stop the fallout from failed liberal agendas. Governor Abbott and the Texas Department of Public Safety have fully embraced this technology, backing it with a $26 million state contract to clean up our highways. Just this week, Governor Abbott explicitly addressed this technology, telling local officials to stop being easy on criminals and start deploying whatever tools they can access to quickly solve crimes.
"Turning our backs on state funding to keep our Town Marshal blind doesn't protect the Constitution; it protects out-of-town criminals, human traffickers, and abductors who use stolen vehicles to target our communities. As we enter Memorial Day weekend and honor the brave men and women who sacrificed everything for our freedom, let’s remember that true security requires active vigilance. It’s time for Bandera to look at the real numbers, look at the real threats, and decide if we actually stand for the law-and-order principles we vote for, or if we just like the slogan.
— Jeff Flowers, Bandera City Councilman"
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