NC Gang Prevention Task Force Chair Tries to Shut Down Transparency
This article first appeared exclusively on the Cops and Congress Substack, published by Annie Dance, that covers Rutherford County news. Click here to visit this Substack to stay informed about Rutherford County.
By Annie Dance | Cops & Congress | News & Commentary
At the very first meeting of North Carolina’s new Gang Prevention and Intervention Task Force, Chair Kevin Blackburn opened with a line that stopped the room cold — and revealed a troubling misunderstanding about public accountability.
“So obviously what we say here stays here,” Blackburn told the group, invoking the “Vegas rule.” He framed it as a ground rule.
Let’s be clear: that is not how state law works. Not even close.
North Carolina is a one-party consent state for recordings and a state with some of the strongest open meetings requirements in the region. A public body cannot simply decide its discussions are secret because a chair prefers it that way. Transparency is not optional.
And on Tuesday, I was the only known member of the media present to watch him — the only record that this happened, word-for-word. Documented. Filmed. Archived.
The irony? This task force was created by Gov. Josh Stein in August to confront statewide gang violence with a whole-of-community approach — law enforcement, educators, prosecutors, public health workers, nonprofits, and people with lived experience. Twenty experts gathered to tackle a crisis. But the first message from leadership was: Don’t tell anyone what we say.
If the state wants public trust in gang prevention, starting with a secrecy rule is not the way. Communities traumatized by violence do not need another closed-door committee. They deserve sunlight.
Once Blackburn’s misstep passed, members got to work — and their urgency was unmistakable.
“Our kids can’t wait,” one said. Youth shootings are happening daily. The people in that meeting know the stakes because they see the aftermath in hospitals, courtrooms, classrooms and neighborhoods.
They outlined immediate priorities:
Youth should shape the solutions, not just be talked about.
Families are drowning under instability, low wages, and constant agency involvement.
Economic reality drives risk, especially in rural counties.
Intervention must start early, even in elementary school.
Nonprofits are stretched thin, and siloed efforts are no longer sustainable.
And threaded through the conversation was a long-simmering frustration: years of committees, studies, and “stakeholder meetings” that generate binders — but not change.
One task force member summed it up: “I’ve had enough of conversations that go nowhere.”
Exactly. This makes Blackburn’s attempted blackout even more disappointing to government transparency advocates and journalists covering the governor’s office. And to taxpayers. And to voters.
The work of this task force matters. The public deserves to see it — warts and all, mistakes and all, urgency and all. That includes when its own chair tries, intentionally or not, to muffle the meeting.
I will continue covering every session, especially when no one else does.