--- title: Cesar Chavez (Formerly Scott Fistler) Runs for Congress in Arizona description: Hint: it's not the Mexican-American labor leader canonical: https://time.com/2815739/the-cesar-chavez-running-for-congress-in-arizona-isnt-the-one-youve-heard-of/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-02T23:55:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:10:43.626Z article:section: Politics og:title: Cesar Chavez (Formerly Scott Fistler) Runs for Congress in Arizona og:description: Hint: it's not the Mexican-American labor leader og:url: https://time.com/2815739/the-cesar-chavez-running-for-congress-in-arizona-isnt-the-one-youve-heard-of/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cesar Chavez (Formerly Scott Fistler) Runs for Congress in Arizona twitter:description: Hint: it's not the Mexican-American labor leader twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # The Cesar Chavez Running for Congress in Arizona Isn't the One You've Heard Of by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 2, 2014 11:55 PM UTC by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 2, 2014 11:55 PM UTC Mexican-American civil rights icon Cesar Chavez died more than 20 years ago, so it would be nigh impossible for him to run for political office at this point. Nonetheless, the late National Farm Workers Association co-founder’s hallowed name is drawing lots of attention on a current Arizona [ballot](http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2014/06/02/az-republican-scott-fistler-changes-name-to-cesar-chavez-party-to-democrat-for-new-congressional-bid/). Which may be exactly what a 34-year-old former Republican running for the Seventh Congressional District seat, who changed his name to Cesar Chavez from Scott Fistler in 2013, is counting on. The politician formerly known as Fistler cited “many hardships” as the reason he needed a new moniker, the _Arizona Republic_ found following a probe. But documents published by the _Arizona Capitol Times_ reveal convenient timing in that “Chavez” filed as a Democratic candidate in February, for the seat that will open when Arizona Representative Ed Pastor retires. Fistler has already tried twice to run for office in the Phoenix area, both unsuccessful. In 2012, he campaigned as a write-in candidate for Pastor’s Seventh Congressional District seat. In 2013, he ran for a seat on the Phoenix City Council. The Seventh Congressional District of Arizona has a large [Hispanic](http://www.census.gov/fastfacts/) population. “People want a name that they can feel comfortable with,” Chavez [said](http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2014/06/01/mystery-congressional-candidate-cesar-chavez/9855441/) in an interview with the _Arizona Republic_. “If you went out there running for office and your name was Bernie Madoff, you’d probably be screwed.” The two main contenders for Pastor’s seat are Mary Rose Wilcox, a 30-year politician and the first Latina elected to the Phoenix City Council, and Iraq War veteran Ruben Gallego, who currently serves in Arizona state legislature. Wilcox has said that she feels Chavez’s candidacy is in poor taste. “My husband and I grew up under the leadership of Cesar Chavez \[the labor leader\] and he means so much to our community,” Wilcox [told](http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2014/06/02/az-republican-scott-fistler-changes-name-to-cesar-chavez-party-to-democrat-for-new-congressional-bid/) the _Capitol Times_. “Voters aren’t going to be fooled. If he thinks he can fool them, it’s a real affront to the community. He should be ashamed.” The candidate also repurposes photos taken at rallies celebrating not only the former labor leader, but also the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, on his [website](http://chavezcongress.blogspot.com). “My name is on a lot of popular things,” he [told](http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2014/06/01/mystery-congressional-candidate-cesar-chavez/9855441/) the _Arizona Republic_. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2815739/the-cesar-chavez-running-for-congress-in-arizona-isnt-the-one-youve-heard-of/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2815739/the-cesar-chavez-running-for-congress-in-arizona-isnt-the-one-youve-heard-of/"},"headline":"The Cesar Chavez Running for Congress in Arizona Isn't the One You've Heard Of","datePublished":"2014-06-02T23:55:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:10:43.626Z","description":"The Phoenix-area Chavez, however, is really a former Republican who switched parties and changed his name","url":"https://time.com/2815739/the-cesar-chavez-running-for-congress-in-arizona-isnt-the-one-youve-heard-of/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2815739/the-cesar-chavez-running-for-congress-in-arizona-isnt-the-one-youve-heard-of/","name":"The Cesar Chavez Running for Congress in Arizona Isn't the One You've Heard Of"}}]}] ```