Neff and Curley: Little Silver Independent Mayoral Candidate's Info False

Little Silver mayoral candidate (I) circulated emails and campaign fliers with "inaccurate or grossly misleading information," according to Interim and Monmouth County Freeholder John P. Curley (R).

Neff objected to Levine's claim of "," which was also refuted by Curley, who said Monday that many people over the years, not Levine alone, were responsible for recent public works and engineering projects in the borough.

The Republicans disputed statements Levine made in campaign materials distributed over the weekend in which he represented that he was responsible for the $450,000 replacement of the bulkhead on the Little Silver side of the Gooseneck Bridge and the $445,620 project to put (which ), along with a $70,000 grant for Memorial Park.

"He didn't fly in here like Superman to get these projects done," said Curley, who stated he and former Freeholder John D'Amico (D) met with Levine on 'a couple of occasions' to discuss the projects, but Levine was not solely responsible for them. "He's sincere in his efforts to help the town, but he needs to understand that he's not a superhero, there were multiple people involved with these projects."

Curley credited the late former mayors of Little Silver and Red Bank, and as vital forces behind the light at Prospect and Harding, and also gave mention to Alderbrook resident Donald Grant. He said the Gooseneck Bridge bulkhead was brought to his attention by Little Silver Point Road resident Tony Gaetano.

"When I became a freeholder in January 2010, I inherited a pile of projects to be completed," said Curley. "Professionals from the county's public works and engineering departments got them done, not Dan Levine."

Curley said the projects were not funded by grants at all, as presented by Levine's campaign, but 100 percent paid for by Monmouth County taxpayers and included in the county budget.

“I have hesitated to react to the inaccurate information the independent candidate puts out, but at this point it is a matter of principle,” said Neff in a release. “The voters should be able to judge the candidates on the facts as they are, not as Dan Levine would like them to be.”

Neff also drew attention to a mass email Levine sent to residents during the height of Hurricane Irene in which he stated that was Little Silver’s “designated shelter,” contrary to . The high school was closed for the hurricane, but its parking lot was available for evacuees to leave their vehicles.

"Mr. Levine failed to send out a correction," said Neff. "Consequently, Little Silver police, already extremely busy fielding emergency calls and preparing for the remainder of the storm, were forced to take time to issue a town-wide text and email alert correcting Mr. Levine’s inaccurate emergency information."

In his release, Neff wondered why Levine didn't retract his error during the storm.

“Sending out inaccurate information may be excusable under some circumstances,” said Neff. “But failing to correct it does nothing but call into question the motivation of the sender, which I will leave to the voters to determine.”

Calls to Levine were not immediately returned.