The voters of Glenrock ousted their mayor Tuesday.
Some say it was because of the town’s Flock-brand license-plate reader cameras.
“The numbers tell the story,” said local transparency hawk John Gallaway in a Thursday message to Cowboy State Daily.
In the Aug. 18 primary election, Mayor Bruce Roumell secured the most votes at 227, followed by town Councilwoman Judi Colling at 201.
Both advanced to the general election.
By then, the fervor over Flock had begun to take hold.
Glenrock Police Chief Colter Felton told Cowboy State Daily in a July 3 interview that Flock cameras had been mounted in the town for about two years, and had brought little outrage.
But the resultant news story was a catalyst as many residents announced they hadn’t known about the cameras.
A week before the primary election, a group converged on the Town Council to demand answers.
The cameras were bought and installed in 2024 after the police department included them in its budget and the council approved their purchase, installation and use, Roumell told Cowboy State Daily at the time.
Felton said the cameras’ primary purpose is public safety, including helping investigate crimes such as bank robberies and kidnappings.
Outrage surfaced again in September and October over the cameras, and high public-records request fees relating to them.
Also in September, Colling told WyoFile that public roads lack the privacy that some people believe they have.
“However,” she continued, “when you add in the possibility of misuse and abuse by public officials, that’s a real concern, and that is something we need to look into. Until I am convinced that the guardrails are in place to protect people from possible misuse and abuse, I have to say I am opposed to the usage.”
Gallaway told Cowboy State Daily that Collings’ direct answer moved the election numbers.
She won 414 votes Tuesday to Roumell’s 300.
“I believe that happened because residents spent the fall reading the town’s own records and asking questions the mayor wouldn’t answer,” said Gallaway.
Neither candidate returned Cowboy State Daily’s voicemail requests for comment Thursday.
Depends Whom You Ask
Whether Flock fervor ousted the mayor depends on whom you ask.
Tracie Bopp, who won her town council election Tuesday, said there might be an anger trend that people are taking out on Roumell.
“The Flock thing, I don’t know why they pick on the mayor,” said Bopp. “The council’s the one that votes. Is everybody mad at the mayor? Seems to be … I don’t know if that’s why he was voted out or if people are just ready for change.”
Gallaway published a narrative Thursday showing inconsistencies in Felton and other town officials’ handling of the matter. He said the mayor’s responses to residents have sparked opposition to him.
As for Bopp, she said she doesn’t have enough information about Flock cameras to take a strong stance. On the one hand, she said, “it does feel like an invasion of people’s rights.” On the other, surveillance in the United States is already prolific, she added.
Councilman Russ Dalgarn told Cowboy State Daily that, from Gallaway’s Facebook posts, he had seen screenshots of “very heated Facebook posts back and forth between the mayor and others – so I don’t think it was specifically Flock.”
Dalgarn said Flock cameras have their place in investigations, but he’s unsure if the proper safeguards are in place nationally to protect people’s privacy rights.
“I would hate to say, ‘We need to get rid of them and have something bad happen that a camera could have prevented,’” said Dalgarn. “But at the same time, I don’t know if the way they’re being used (nationally) are 100% constitutional.”
Dalgarn took office in 2025, after the cameras were mounted. He said it’s his understanding that the council approved a budgetary request tied to them, but never a specific policy question on their implementation.
Councilwoman Margaret Nunn said Glenrock is a small town with “a lot of emotions floating” right now. As for the mayor’s election, “the people have made their choice, and we’re going to move forward.”
The Candidate
Lonnie Sorenson lost his bid for mayor by taking third in the primary, but secured enough write-ins for town council to run in the general, where he finished narrowly shy of a win.
He said people’s outcry isn’t about Flock cameras specifically: It’s about feeling the government has been unresponsive to the people’s will.
“Our whole country in general is in disarray, because we the people have allowed our government to take control of us, and not the other way around,” said Sorenson. “We work for them.”
He added, “when the people speak the government should listen.”
He said if elected, he would have subordinated any of his own ideas about Flock cameras to the will of the townspeople.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
