Democratic mayoral candidate Pasquale Menna has acknowledged that mailed campaign literature used to attack his opponent, John Curley, contained made-up newspaper excerpts, according to today’s Asbury Park Press.
“It was an error on the campaign’s part. We didn’t do it maliciously, and I’ve apologized on behalf of the campaign,” Menna told the Press’ Larry Higgs. “It should have been put together better.”
But the consultant whose firm designed the ad, Ross Oster of the Oster Group, told the Press that he properly sourced the original Press article, an assertion disputed by an editor at the Press.
From the Press story:
“I think I did the responsible thing by sourcing the material. The data is in the paper,” Oster said. “We have a difference of opinion, and you are entitled to your opinion.”
By “data,” Oster apparently meant, “Words spoken by Mayor Ed McKenna but attributed to the Press istself, not McKenna.”
Oster acknowledged, though, that text reportedly excerpted from the The Hub, um, wasn’t.
“That was my mistake, I didn’t get that from The Hub,” Oster said. “That quote wasn’t from The Hub.”
The case of the dubious excerpts was first reported by redbankgreen earlier this week.
