CA07 update: Vang pledges to oppose ALPRs; Matsui revisits attacks
Vang framed her opposition around privacy, civil liberties and concerns about access to location data by immigration enforcement agencies
Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang pledged Oct. 21 to support federal legislation targeting automated license plate readers if elected to Congress, while Rep. Doris Matsui’s campaign revisited its attacks on her opponent’s political associations, fundraising and record.
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The statements offered different messages in California’s 7th Congressional District campaign: Vang outlined a commitment to restrict surveillance technology, while Matsui’s campaign accused the challenger of hypocrisy.
Vang said she would co-sponsor the Get the Flock Out of Our Communities Act, which her campaign said Rep. Rashida Tlaib introduced Oct. 14. According to Vang’s announcement, the measure would prohibit federal funding for automated mass surveillance, including artificial intelligence-powered license plate readers, facial recognition and biometric tracking.
“When I get to Congress, I’ll cosponsor legislation to remove Flock cameras and fight to get it passed,” Vang said.
Vang framed her opposition around privacy, civil liberties and concerns about access to location data by immigration enforcement agencies. Her announcement cited Elk Grove’s network of nearly 90 Flock cameras as an example of the technology’s presence in the district.
“People in our district should be able to drive to work, pick up their kids, see a doctor without a private company logging where they went and handing that record to whoever asks for it,” she said.
Vang also criticized Matsui for not adding her name to the legislation. The Matsui release supplied for this story did not address the surveillance proposal.
Instead, Matsui’s Oct. 21 statement, titled “Highlighting Mai Vang’s Hypocrisy Hit Parade,” assembled four lines of criticism involving Vang’s support for former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, her association with online commentator Hasan Piker, contributions to her council campaigns and outside spending benefiting her congressional bid.
The campaign argued that Vang’s anti-corruption message conflicted with her past support for Thao. It also renewed criticism of Vang’s fundraising appearance with Piker, citing statements and conduct it attributed to him.
On campaign finances, Matsui’s campaign alleged that Vang previously accepted contributions from utilities, card rooms, developers and waste companies while now campaigning against corporate influence.
The release also accused Vang of criticizing outside spending while benefiting from more than $1 million in independent expenditures. That figure was asserted by Matsui’s campaign and was not independently verified for this story.
The two announcements underscored the campaign’s competing approaches: Vang sought to distinguish herself through a surveillance policy pledge, while Matsui’s campaign challenged the consistency of her positions.
