The San Francisco Democratic Party voted Wednesday to continue supporting Flock Safety’s surveillance cameras, according to Mission Local, in a sweeping vote that split the city’s progressive coalition.

Flock’s AI-powered license-plate readers log the plate numbers of passing cars and share them through law enforcement networks. Supporters say the cameras help police identify suspects, find stolen vehicles and solve serious crimes. Critics fear a mass surveillance network, pointing to reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies gained access to camera data.

The vote drew extra scrutiny because Lily Ho, a public affairs manager for Flock Safety, serves as an elected member of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee. The San Francisco Standard previously reported that a Flock employee helped block an earlier party vote seeking more transparency about the cameras.

The party’s continued backing comes amid a national backlash. More than 50 cities and agencies have canceled or rejected Flock contracts this year, and the company skipped a Senate hearing this week on its surveillance network. A San Francisco class action alleges more than 1.6 million improper queries of the city’s cameras by federal agencies.