Christie Sticks State With $85K Official Portrait Bill

The New Jersey Record reports:

To most people, the image that sums up Chris Christie’s time as governor is the picture of him on that beach closed to everyone else, in that chair with his family and friends while the public was shut out of state parks on a holiday weekend during a government shutdown.

The image that Christie wants to officially mark his time as governor and the one that the public is paying for will be painted by an Australian artist whose portrait portfolio includes royalty and an international pop star — and whose fee comes with the highest price tag yet for New Jersey taxpayers.

At a total of $85,000, Christie’s portrait will cost more than what his three predecessors combined paid to have their images hang in commemoration of their political service, according to documents obtained by The Record and northjersey.com.