Going to the beach can be a rare treat, especially when your governor closes it to the public so he can enjoy it privately. But a new bill could soon allow even us mere peasants to enjoy the same luxury as New Jersey’s Republican Gov. Chris Christie.
A new bill introduced Friday by Democratic Assemblyman John Wisniewski would allow the public to rent out Christie’s Island Beach State Park home.
The bill comes after photos surfaced of the governor lounging with his family on a beach that he had shut down to the public because of a budget standoff. NJ.com photojournalist Andrew Mills captured Christie from a private plane after making two passes.
The governor later denied being on the beach, saying he “didn’t get any sun.”
“That wasn’t true,” Mills said in a piece about the incident. “And we had the irrefutable evidence.”
Christie spokesman Brian Murray then backtracked by saying Christie “did not get any sun. He had a baseball hat on.”
On Monday, Christie stood by his decision to post up on the beach he closed to everyone else.
“I don’t apologize for it,” Christie said at a press conference. “I don’t back away from it. I think my poll numbers show I don’t care about political optics.”
Christie’s poll numbers have plummeted in recent months, with The Washington Post reporting that “by mid-June of this year, his net approval rating was a stunning minus-66, with only 15 percent of the state viewing his job performance positively.”
A second bill would also prevent any New Jersey governor from using the beach house during a state shutdown.
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