Hinojosa's New 'Flock Hunt' Ad Attacks Abbott Over 10,000 Surveillance Cameras and a $26 Million Flock Contract
The Democratic nominee's campaign said Wednesday the ad joins its seven-figure statewide rotation, arguing the camera network is subsidized by state grants covering most of its cost — a claim her release ties to Texas Tribune reporting.
Democratic nominee for governor Gina Hinojosa released a new campaign ad on Wednesday, titled "Flock Hunt," attacking Gov. Greg Abbott over the Flock license-plate camera network in Texas, her campaign announced. The ad will join the campaign's seven-figure statewide rotation, the release said.
The campaign's case, as stated in its own release, is that Abbott invited Flock to install 10,000 surveillance cameras in Texas and handed the company a $26 million contract last year, that Flock cameras now operate in dozens of Texas cities and counties, and that the network is heavily subsidized by state grants that can cover 75 to 80 percent of the cost — a point the release attributes to Texas Tribune reporting. The narrator says in the ad's transcript, as published by the campaign: "In Greg Abbott's Texas, we're all sitting ducks. 10,000 cameras tracking your every move."
Hinojosa's release says that as governor she would ensure local law enforcement has the tools, resources and training to keep communities safe "without unlawful surveillance," and it adds that the campaign does not endorse any destruction of Flock cameras and recommends voters remove them by electing a new governor. The claims in the ad are the campaign's; Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and early voting runs through Friday.
