From Flock Fights to Election Night Upsets -This Week in a Flash

Flock cameras face growing resistance in Northern Kentucky as Fort Mitchell votes to end its contract and residents continue pushing back in Independence. Plus, we break down surprising primary election results in Florida, South Carolina, and Alaska, recap the record-setting Kentucky Democratic Party Forward Together Dinner, and discuss what growing grassroots momentum could mean for Kentucky's political future.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Blue Dot, Northern Kentucky's premier political podcast. Brought to you by the Kenton County Democratic Executive Committee. Welcome back to the Blue Dot Podcast for our weekly roundup where we deliver you all the news you need to know in 10 minutes or less. Thanks for joining. I'm Natalie McDonald.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

And I'm Brian Cale. Another big week locally and nationally. Flock cameras are making more waves in northern Kentucky. Kentucky Dams held their most successful dinner in history in Lexington, and headlines were made in primaries across the country, while Trump's approval rating drops to 33% as Americans continue to feel the effects of the failed policies of this administration.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

That is true. So where do we start? Let's do flock cameras.

unknown 0:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Because this is this is an issue that's not going to go away. The flock camera debate took place all over Northern Kentucky this week, most notably in the city of Fort Mitchell, where it ended its use of flock devices after Monday night's city council was packed with people voicing their opposition to them. Mayor Greg Polgier stated that they will be shutting down all five of the city's devices and will not renew their contract with Flock Safety.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Yeah, man. I mean, we the people standing up and making change.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

Yeah, if you remember, back in 2024, the city actually purchased five Flock devices for $34,000, and it was a 24-month lease with the company, so that's all coming up.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

Yeah, right. And not to be outdone, the City of Independence, who has been leading the charge against Flocks for a while, also had a public meeting on Monday. The bad news is nothing got done and nothing changed, but it was, again, standing room only.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

Yeah, the people are out there making their voices heard, and independence has been on the leading edge of this opposition. They were the first of the cities to deploy the Flock cameras. And to date they have contracted to have 20 flock cameras, and 17 of them are now in use. And by the end of the meeting on Monday, three council members stood up to take a stance against the devices.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Well, yeah, that's great. I mean, and there are over 100 flock cameras in northern Kentucky, so if opposition hasn't hit your city, it will. You know, and Natalie, in general, police departments support flock camera deployments and love the vehicle tracking capability they provide. And that's a great tool against crime, but this type of surveillance treads the thin line between legality and violation of the U.S. Constitution, Fourth Amendment rights.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Yeah, that's right, Brian. And one of the real concerns citizens have is the potential for misuse of the cameras or eventually adding facial recognition capabilities, or especially now the ability for those with access to the camera data abusing that privilege. So there have already been instances in Alabama, for example, where police or sheriff department officials have used flight cameras to track people for personal reasons.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

You know, if we're going to have this technology anywhere near us, we need to first put in some stringent safeguards to combat uh wrongful use. We'll see what happens there. Let's move on to the primaries. Tuesday night was primary night in Alaska, Wyoming, and Florida. Let's start in Florida because, you know, like everything in Florida, you never know what's going to happen. Don't. That is one crazy state. It is. State Representative Angie Nixon, a union organizer who couldn't afford a single television ad, beat establishment Alex Vinman, who raised more than 16 times as much money as Nixon to win the Democratic Senate nomination. Nixon raised only $975,000 for her campaign versus Vinman's $16.3 million. You know, we always like to see when the grassroots campaign takes on big money and wins.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

Yeah, that was crazy. And money is usually the key to success in Florida, which is the nation's third largest state, but it's home to 12 television markets. So it's really tough to get your name out there. And on the Republican side of things in Florida, it just keeps getting more Florida.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Yeah, that's right. Representative Corey Mills lost the Republican primary in Florida's seventh congressional as he lost support within his own party after the House Ethics Committee investigated him for threatening behavior and assault towards women. This is on the heels of Representative Chuck Edwards of North Carolina, who dropped out due to sexual harassment charges, and Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee, who lost his primary after spouting heinous anti-Muslim remarks. You know, in the past, this behavior might have been overlooked by voters, but it seems like maybe the tides are turning. Are we getting back to demanding decency from those who want to represent us?

SPEAKER_00 4:36

Gosh, Brian, I I certainly hope so, and I think that people really want that.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

And hey, I realize these primary results we're talking about are beyond the bluegrass, but I also do want to talk about what is happening in Alaska. Alaska uses a nonpartisan top four primary system, which is much different than most states. All candidates appear on one ballot, regardless of party affiliation. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and nonpartisan candidates all compete together. Every voter gets the same ballot and they vote for one candidate in each race, regardless of the voters registered party.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

Yeah, it's a really interesting way of putting it up. So the top four vote getters advanced to the general election no matter what their party is. So it could be four Republicans, four independents, or any combination. So why do we care about this? Well, because this was a really interesting race. Mary Peltola, a Democrat and former congresswoman, and Senator Dan Sullivan, the incumbent Republican, advanced for the Senate seat. So t today, uh Peltola, the Democrat in Alaska, is currently leading. So she's leading 48% of the vote with Sullivan following at 42.8%. So this is putting Alaska in play for control of the Senate. It's a big deal. Crazy.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

Yeah, I mean, go blue. Governor Andy Bashir predicted this week that we would be winning in some unexpected places, and maybe this is one of them.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

Yeah, keep them rolling. And these are some amazing results. And we're seeing this kind of momentum and enthusiasm right here in Kentucky. So, Brian, you and I both had the good fortune to attend the Forward Together dinner last Saturday in Lexington. And there was an amazing slate of speakers, many of which have been on the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Yeah, it's pretty it was pretty exciting. Speakers included friends of the podcast, Lieutenant Governor Jaclyn Coleman, Zach Dembo, and Coleman Eldridge, as well as Rocky Adkins and Charles Booker. It was all capped off by a rousing speech by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Big Gretsch, and finally Governor Andy Bashir.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Yeah, this was the largest dinner in KDP history with over 525 attendees, and it was the first time that the dinner has ever been sold out. So you are right, Brian. The excitement was there, and it was just off the charts. So fun.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

Yeah, yeah, it sure was. I mean, Governor Bashir and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer shared a winning message. In a world of GOP price hikes and hospital closures, Democrats offer a quote, roadmap out of the wilderness. And I loved when Andy said the Democrats are working to quote reignite the American dream. Yes, please. One thing is certain Democrats are fighting for Kentuckians, not against them. And that is something the Republican Party will never be able to say.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

Yeah, and this is becoming so obvious in so many races. I mean, they aren't even trying to hide it anymore because I think people will just roll over. But at the end of the day, Republicans love paying for preventative wars, golden ballrooms, and billionaire tax breaks, but not Kentucky's needs. So we're seeing federal budgets take from Kentuckians and increase the national debt to give billionaires their massive tax breaks and fund these crazy wars. And the Republican state budget underfunded Medicaid and cut education and all other community services. So we know what they're doing.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

That's right. I mean, that's right. More Democrats in office means better budgets and a better future for Kentucky. Bashir's Democratic budget would have fully funded Medicaid, public education, and community services without raising taxes. And when Republicans in the Kentucky legislature rejected his fiscally responsible plan, Governor Bashir didn't stop. He used his administration's budget surplus to protect vital services. But, you know, these are only temporary band-aids. The long-term fix is to send more Democrats to Frankfurt.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Yeah, absolutely. That is the key. And again, we like to talk about what the Democrats are doing rather than what Republicans are taking. So despite the pain of Kentucky households and businesses, FEMS are the one enacting whatever policies they can to make things more affordable. For instance, if you remember, Governor Bashir lowered gas prices through executive action. And then what did Republicans do? They threatened local leaders who worked with him.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Governor Bashir set up rules to protect Kentuckians from data center price hikes. Republicans gave data centers 50-year tax breaks and refused to pass a single guideline. Democrats held statewide food drives to help struggling nonprofits feed hungry Kentuckians. Meanwhile, Republicans kicked 11,000 Kentucky children off of SNAP.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Yeah, bottom line, Democrats want to help make your life better. Republicans have unserious priorities like self-driving DoorDash robots and electrocution gloves for ICE agents.

SPEAKER_01 9:15

Yeah. Don't even get me started on the ICE stuff. Well, we need, yeah, we know what we need to do. We need to get Dems elected to every level of government from city council to school board to commissioner and state rep seats to federal positions. And the way to do that is we have to get out there.

SPEAKER_00 9:32

We have to get out there, and we have ways to get out there. Kenton Dems are hosting days of action every other week from a Labor Day through mid-October, rotating among House Districts 64, 65, and 69 to expand voter outreach and voter engagement. So make sure you check out our website for all of the dates where you can be involved in those.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Yeah, there are so many ways to get involved, and you can check out all the opportunities by going to Kenton County Democrats.org or your county website and any of the candidate pages and socials. So let's go.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

Yes, let's go indeed. And it is a time to go because our time is up. So until next time, stay curious, keep the facts in focus, never stop fighting for what matters. Peace out, everybody.