The Republican-turned-Democrat who legally changed his name to César Chávez offered a rambling explanation to azcentral.com about why he did it on Tuesday, citing sports, dog food and ease of pronunciation.
Wearing a smug grin, the failed candidate formerly known as Scott Fistler denied changing his name to associate himself with the Mexican American civil rights leader.
“You wanna know what? No, it has nothing to do with him [the real César Chávez],” the fake Chávez said. “‘Cause you know what? He’s been dead for like 20 years, people. And you know what? I’m not dead.”
Ex-Fistler added that he wanted a name that was “short” and “easy to pronounce,” though he mispronounced his new surname during the interview, putting the accent on the last syllable instead of the first.
He also said that he was inspired by sports stars with the name Chávez, as well as his brand of dog food.
Having failed twice to win elected office as a Republican, Fistler changed his name and his party this year in order to run in the Democratic primary for Arizona’s heavily Hispanic 7th Congressional District.
A judge kicked the petty prankster off the ballot Tuesday, after ruling that he provided invalid nomination signatures. Fake Chávez said he’d appeal.
H/T: Latino Rebels.
Point and laugh at Scott Fistler in the video above.