Collins: Shannon’s Flock Flip-Flop Proves Why Voters Shouldn’t Send Him Back to Rewrite the Law He Got Wrong

Milford, CT — Ray Collins, Republican candidate for State Representative in the 117th District, today released the following statement calling out State Representative MJ Shannon’s sudden reversal on automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and Flock cameras, and demanding immediate action instead of another delayed promise.

“Rep. MJ Shannon is now waking up to the fact that the legislation he passed was a complete failure in protecting the privacy of residents in the 117th,” said Collins. “He green-lit the technology. Now he says it creates an ‘unacceptable imbalance’ between safety and privacy and promises to ban it - in 2027.

“Why should the people of the 117th send MJ Shannon back to Hartford to fix a problem he created? If this is such a serious threat, call a special session and fix it now. Do not ask residents to wait months while cameras continue to roll and municipalities face growing legal risk.”

Collins pointed to Shannon’s record: “We are seeing a disturbing pattern from Shannon. He promised property tax relief. We didn’t get it. In a special session, he stripped local control of zoning from our communities under the claim that housing was an ‘emergency.’ He has a track record of failed promises and not listening to the concerns of voters. His inexperience is showing.”

“Hartford needs real leadership and real experience, not more delayed conversions. I served 14 years on the West Haven Police Commission. I have negotiated with police unions and worked directly with law enforcement to balance public safety and the rights of the people we serve. That is the kind of experience the 117th needs to prevent these failures from happening again.”

“Public safety and privacy are not opposing values. We can support our police without normalizing mass surveillance. The people of the 117th deserve better than flip-flops. They deserve someone who gets it right the first time.”

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