As far as extreme makeovers go this one out of Arizona is a doozy. The candidate formerly-known as Scott Fistler launched two bids for office—as a Republican—in the state, losing a write-in congressional campaign in 2012 and another for Phoenix city council last year. Perhaps sensing running as himself didn’t seem to be all that appealing to voters, Fistler decided to switch parties registering as a Democrat and legally changed his name to Cesar Chavez to run in Arizona’s majority Hispanic 7th Congressional District.
Here’s more from the Arizona Capitol Times:
After petitioning a state superior court last November and paying $319, Fistler now legally shares the name of the celebrated labor movement icon, Cesar Chavez. In his petition for a name change, Fistler wrote that he had “experienced many hardships because of my name.”
Chavez did not respond to requests for a comment, other than to email the Arizona Capitol Times to say that because of how “flooded with calls and emails” his campaign has been, he is taking a break from media queries. “There is just simply not enough Cesar Chavez to go around,” he wrote. “We may resume questions starting May 10 [sic].”
Chavez did lay out some ground rules for media questions, should he be able to get to them. Questions must be screened, no more than five questions, no question longer than five words and Chavez will not discuss his name change, he explained in the email.
“It’s almost as simple as saying Elvis Presley is running for president,” Chavez said in a phone interview with the Arizona Republic. “You wouldn’t forget it, would you?” There is, in fact, a Cesar Chavez for Congress website, which, the Capitol Times reports, uses rally pictures with supporters taking to the streets in support of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
