Controversy is brewing in New York’s 21st Congressional District race over inflammatory language used in a promotional video by Sticker Mule CEO and Republican candidate Anthony Constantino.
Now, the New York Association on Independent Living is demanding Constantino take down the video and apologize to the disabled community.
“Our position with respect to the Anthony Constantino video where he is using the r-word with disabled comedian Ricky Berwick is just disgusting,” said Blaise Bryant, a communications specialist at the New York Association on Independent Living. “(Constantino) called me personally and did not apologize. He accused us of politically attacking him and he also blamed shifted of his use of the r-word and put more of the emphasis on Ricky. Which Ricky doesn’t get a pass here either.”
Bryant said he understands the video is from two years ago, however, he just became aware of it in recent weeks. He says this situation is a cautionary tale of how things come out when a person runs for political office.
Bryant said in addition to this video, the association is also calling on Constantino’s Democratic opponent Blake Gendebien to take down a clip he shared from The Daily Show on social media where the host of the episode suggested Constantino had a “learning disability.”
David Carlucci, former New York state senator and Democratic strategist, tells Spectrum News 1: “Freedom of speech is something that protects us in what we say,” but as a candidate it doesn’t ‘protect’ them from voters liking what they have to say.”
“In a situation like this, look, candidates make mistakes,” said Carlucci. “They’re uninformed as a private citizen. Once you step into that light as a candidate for office, it’s your response, sometimes more important than the gesture or the action or the statement that was taken before.”
Carlucci said how a candidate responds shows the type of politician they will be. He said voters are looking to see how a candidate handles crises since they come up when they’re in office.
“In a campaign where it’s a competitive race for Congress, this is about addition not subtraction, trying to build coalitions, not shrink your voter base,” he said.
Both the Constantino and Gendebien campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
