MANCHESTER – They are opposites on the political spectrum, but they could pass for, well, close relatives.
Manchester Township Education Association president Dan Staples went classic Jersey with his Halloween costume: “Beachgate 2017.” The public was famously shut out of Island Beach State Park for most of the Fourth of July weekend due to a state shutdown, while Gov. Chris Christie and his family and friends lounged at the governor’s beach house in the park. The house, owned by the state, was purchased in 1953 for $2.7 million.
Staples recreated the now-infamous beach scene of Christie sitting in a beach chair on the beach.
He decided about a week ago on his Halloween costume, and reached out to friends on social media for a beach chair. “[It was] really just for fun. Those memes had me dying all summer long.”
Staples wore the get-up to a colleague’s Halloween party, where his creation got praise from coworkers, but not so much for looking like the governor.
“I ‘won’ Halloween but what really got a reaction is I used bungee cords so that I was walking around with the chair physically attached to look like I was sitting in it,” Staples told Jersey Shore Online.
Friends splashed photos of Staples’ costume on social media, which caught the attention of Varacchi, a DJ at 105.7 The Hawk. He’s a friend-of-a-friend who saw Staples’ photos online.
“I gotta give Dan credit–he nailed the look!” Varacchi shared in an online post Nov. 1.
No word if Staples will dress at Nov. 7’s winner next Halloween.
