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The town of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, received some complaints after a truck plastered in pro-Trump, anti-Biden and anti-Kamala stickers was spotted in the parking lot at the Mini-Golf at Saybrook Point, which is part of the Town's Parks & Recreation Department.
Old Saybrook First Selectman Carl Fortuna, a republican, told the owner of the vehicle, who is currently being paid to work for the town, that it's "not appropriate" or a "good look for the town" to have a "go f*ck Kamala" sticker on a vehicle parked on town property.
"That truck won't be on town property while he's working for the town," said Fortuna who clarified there isn't necessarily an ordinance about stickers on town vehicles and said it was more a matter of decorum. He added that if the sticker went the other way politically, and said something like "Donald Trump is a f*cking orange monkey" then he would have said the same thing -- that it's not right.
Fortuna is concerned that people can lose control quickly these days when they see something like that tailgate covered in stickers, so he doesn't think it's unfair to say, "you know what, we're trying to make some repairs to the park and rec facility, that's all we're trying to do. We don't need to make an issue out of that."
He also pointed out that, "this is not a construction site -- it's where people might want to bring their kids and there are some things I just think are reasonable."
He doesn't know if the owner has an alternative vehicle to drive while working for the Town, and said it's not his problem.
But Fortuna said his door is always open and he's always willing to talk.
He doesn't seem to think of this as a free speech issue.
The controversy started a few days ago when a photo of the truck circulated on social media, generating nearly 200 comments in an Old Saybrook-focused Facebook group.
Some people LOVED the truck, and wanted to hire the owner based on the stickers.
Others defended the owner—even if they didn't agree with the messages on the stickers—because they believe in the freedom of speech.
"I disagree with every sticker on there that I can make out, but now we're against people's freedom of expression? It's one thing for us to complain, but another for a municipality to take any kind of action."
"I don’t agree with anything that this tail gate says but making it so this person can’t drive their truck to their job is a bit much. What happened to freedom of speech. Again I DO NOT agree with this person but they should still be able to work and speeches r mind just like you."
"...it is wrong for the town to take any action as this is freedom of expression protected under the first amendment. If it's obscene, why isn't the owner of the truck arrested? Why isn't the truck pulled over and ticketed during any use? ... The town ABSOLUTELY should not be infringing on anyone's 1A rights."
But a number of residents expressed pure outrage over the stickers and wanted action -- one person even called for firing the person.
"The vulgar language and sexual innuendos are enough for this to be unacceptable publicly, but the blatant racism is absolutely sickening. Everyone defending this has to either be blind, ignorant or racist," wrote one person. "This isn’t freedom of expression, it’s highly offensive and discriminatory."
"Try explaining the sex act on the back to your child."
Some people even felt the owner of the truck "should move out of New England" and even suggested that MAGA / Trump supporters "are disgusting and belong in rural Alabama with the rest of ignorants."
The moderator of the Facebook group that circulated the photo, Earl Swain, a former BOE candidate in Old Saybrook who calls Trump supporters "Nazis" and "racist, sexist and homophobic", said "obscenities are not legal" and "Connecticut law defines obscenity and prohibits its promotion. This includes activities like selling, distributing, or exhibiting obscene materials."
Swain told one person that, "the language and pictures are not things that should be where little kids can see it. They should have a little common decency."
He later added that, "it’s about filth that our kids shouldn’t have to see" and described the vehicle as "inappropriate and illegal" and "Nazi transportation."
The irony here, of course, is that Swain boasted about "banned books" in one of his BOE campaign videos -- these are books that include a plethora of obscenities and graphic depictions of sex acts, like the book "Fun Home" which is available in the Old Saybrook High School Library -- while angrily chopping herbs with a couple large knives.
Nonetheless, Swain felt the stickers on the back of the truck were "disgusting" and seemed to be relieved that Fortuna addressed the issue.
"The problem has been rectified, and we won’t be seeing this on town job sites in the future," said Swain.
The Centinal was unable to reach the owner of the truck for a comment.
