Cesar Chavez (politician)

This article is about the Arizona politician. For other uses, see Cesar Chavez (disambiguation).
Cesar Chavez
Personal details
Born Scott Fistler
(1979-12-20) December 20, 1979
Citizenship United States
Nationality American
Political party Democratic
Other political
affiliations		 Formerly Republican
Residence Phoenix, Arizona
Occupation Politician;
Website 2014 campaign website: CESAR CHAVEZ for CONGRESS in 2014!

Cesar Chavez, who changed his name from Scott Fistler, is a politician from Arizona known for his multiple campaigns for a congressional seat, most recently as a representative of Arizona's 7th congressional district.

Chavez officially changed political parties from Republican to Democrat on April 28, 2014.[1]

2012 Campaign

In 2012, Chavez mounted a campaign as a Republican write-in candidate against Democrat Ed Pastor for the District 7 seat.[2] Incumbent Pastor was challenged by Democrat Rebecca Witt in the August 2012 primary for the 7th Congressional District, but Pastor "easily bested" Witt. Chavez ran as the only Republican candidate.[3]

In that election, Pastor was elected to a 12th term in congress, "easily" winning the election. With Chavez mounting the write-in campaign, he was not listed as the official Republican in election result announcements.[4]

2013 Campaign

In 2013, Chavez ran for the Phoenix City Council District 4 seat. "Longtime" councilman Tom Simplot announced that he would not seek reelection for the 2013 election, which resulted in more candidates running for one City Council seat than any other district in the United States that election. Candidates included Chavez, then running under Scott Fistler; Jeffrey Brown; Dan Carroll; Austin Head; Justin Johnson, son of former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson; David Lujan; and Laura Pastor, daughter of Ed Pastor.[5]

At the time, Chavez had lived in Phoenix eight years. On the official City Council candidate form, Chavez listed his favorite book as The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss and his favorite move as Rocky.[6]

Early results showed Kate Gallego and Laura Pastor leading the polls.[7] Eventually, Pastor won Simplot's seat and Gallego won Councilman Michael Johnson's seat after he termed out after 12 years in office.

Chavez' bid for the City Council seat was unsuccessful, with Pastor, Gallego and then incumbents Jim Waring (District 2) and Sal DiCiccio (District 6) comprising the council.[8]

Name change

Chavez changed his name from Scott Fistler to Cesar Chavez in December 2013.[9] He was criticized for changing his name and switching political parties to try and gain Hispanic votes in District 7, which is heavily Hispanic. Chavez rebutted those accusations, saying the name change was to get a shorter name, an easier to pronounce name, and that he was inspired by a dog food brand.[10] The official reason Chavez listed for changing his name on court paperwork was that he "had experienced many hardships because of his name."[11] Chavez was charged $319 for the name change.

2014 Campaign

On June 17, 2014, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Rea ruled that Chavez was ineligible to run based on the signatures being invalid. Chavez represented himself in court and stated that he would appeal the ruling. He also appealed to voters to "funnel money" to him and to find him an attorney.[12] The Arizona secretary of state's office stated that almost half (just under 700) of the signatures were invalid.[13]

Chavez's 2014 campaign website was hosted on Blogspot.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Nuzzi, Olivia (2 June 2014). "The GOP Candidate In Arizona Who Changed His Name To Cesar Chavez". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Scott Fistler – Write-in (R-AZ-7)". Tea Party Cheer. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "Democratic congressman Ed Pastor wins in 7th District". ABC 15. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  4. ↑ Kelly, Erin (7 November 2012). "Democrat Pastor elected to 12th term in Congress". AZ Central. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  5. ↑ Scott, Eugene (30 July 2013). "Phoenix City Council District 4 voters get 7 options". AZ Central. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  6. ↑ "Phoenix Arizona Election Questionnaire for PHX Council, Scott Fistler". AZ Central. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "Early results show Kate Gallego, Laura Pastor leading polls". AZ Central. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  8. ↑ Gardiner, Dustin (8 November 2013). "Phoenix final election results: Pastor, Gallego winners". AZ Central. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  9. ↑ Giles, Ben (10 June 2014). "Legal challenge alleges Cesar Chavez misled voters, should be tossed off ballot". AZ Capital Times. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  10. ↑ Baral, Susmita (19 June 2014). "Scott Fistler, GOP Candidate Who Changed Name To César Chávez, Says Inspiration Came From Dog Food Brand". Latin Times. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  11. ↑ Wyloge, Evan (2 June 2014). "Two-time GOP loser changes party to Democrat, name to Cesar Chavez for new congressional bid". Arizona Capital Times. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Sanders, Rebekah L. (17 June 2014). "Cesar Chavez to be removed from ballot, plans to appeal". AZ Central. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  13. ↑ Johnson, M. Alex (17 June 2014). "'Cesar Chavez' Thrown Off Arizona Congressional Ballot". NBC. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
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