The 100-foot-wide, 12-foot-tall glowing VOTE FOR TRUMP sign would be hard to miss driving through downtown Amsterdam, New York. And that, according to the town’s mayor, is the problem.
The sign, erected atop the headquarters of Sticker Mule, a sticker and t-shirt printing company based in the small upstate city, has become a flashpoint in a national debate over partisan politics, free speech, and the more byzantine matter of local zoning codes.
Sticker Mule unveiled the sign this week in a lighting ceremony that went ahead in spite of the town’s concerns that it was against code and would pose a distraction to passing motorists. But in the middle of a heated and polarizing election season, nothing is that simple.
Instead, a local matter ostensibly about zoning regulations has morphed into something much bigger, with Sticker Mule’s CEO, Anthony Constantino, framing it as a matter of free speech and unity, while Amsterdam’s mayor, Michael Cinquanti, says he just wants the company to abide by the law.
Cinquanti, a Democrat, told Newsweek that he did not want City Hall’s issue with the Trump sign turning into a political powder keg, though that ship sailed when Trump himself promoted an article about the lighting ceremony on Truth Social.
“We’re asking him to comply with city codes,” Cinquanti said, referring to Constantino. “Everybody hates negative publicity in the city, and that’s what I was trying to avoid.”
Sticker Mule has placed a Vote for Trump sign in Amsterdam, New York. The city is arguing it is against codes.
Sticker Mule
Why did the Vote for Trump sign violate city code?
The city of Amsterdam, which is about 35 miles northwest of Albany, filed a lawsuit against Sticker Mule last week in state Supreme Court. The city argued the sign violates a city code where a sign on top of a business must relate to the business it is underneath.
Cinquanti told Newsweek he was concerned people traveling on the freeway past his city would slow down, take photos and potentially cause accidents.
In addition, the mayor said Constantino did not hold a variance hearing, where he and the city could have asked Sticker Mule to go through the Department of Transportation.
“It should be on him to do that, not for us to do that,” Cinquanti said.
The city looked for a preliminary injunction to halt the lighting ceremony, ordering Sticker Mule to appear in court to argue why a temporary restraining order should not be ordered.
The judge lifted the order about 90 minutes before Sticker Mule went ahead with the public lighting of the sign.
“We’re not suing him at this point,” Cinquanti said. “We want to make him comply with codes as we do with every other residence in our city.”
What happened at the lighting event?
Constantino hosted the ceremony on Monday to officially light the sign for the first time. Hundreds of people gathered in building’s parking lot, where guest speakers included a former UFC champion and a Republican running for state assembly.
“Thank you everyone for coming to the historic ‘Vote for Trump’ sign lighting and watching live all over the world. It was so great to see everyone so happy. Unity!” Constantino wrote on Instagram.
Cinquanti told Newsweek he needed to assign 12 police officers, out of his 30-person department, to the event as a precaution.
“The attendance was not as great as he thought it would be,” Cinquanti said. “I’m happy with the people in our city. They’ve handled it as I would expect them to.”
Who is Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino?
Constantino is one of the founders of Sticker Mule. He is the sole owner now and has a factory in Amsterdam as well as facilities in South Carolina and Italy, according to the company.
Sticker Mule, which employs about 1,000 people in Amsterdam, credits itself with bringing manufacturing back to the de-industrialized area of upstate New York.
Anthony Constantino speaking at the Amsterdam, New York event on Monday. He has been facing heat for the sign in the background, which is in support of former President Donald Trump.
Sticker Mule
Constantino, who lives part-time in Mexico, struck a nerve on social media previously when he used Sticker Mule’s corporate accounts to express support for Trump following the assassination attempt against him in July.
“Americans shouldn’t live in fear,” Sticker Mule posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I support Trump. Many at Sticker Mule do. Many at Sticker Mule also support Biden. The political hate needs to stop.” The company also sent out an email blast pitching a t-shirt that could be purchased to show support for the former president.
Constantino told Newsweek he is working to lower the political temperature while proudly standing with the Republican nominee.
“I’ve been doing everything I can to try to stop anti-Trump hate since a bullet hit Donald Trump and I think one of the best things you can do is stand up and support him in a respectful way,” Constantino said.
“Far too many influential people stay silent because they do the risk-reward calculation and fear retaliation, which creates an unrealistic perception of Trump supporters.”
He said the media attention has not impacted Sticker Mule’s sales “that much,” and that the sign was not about making money but about “representing” Trump supporters in a public forum.
“I think we are helping properly represent the Trump voter, who’s been smeared and disparaged far too often,” Constantino said.
“This is good for both sides because in the event Trump wins we want the opposition to be more respectful of the type of people supporting him.”
