Ahhh, Chris Lauzen, CPA

The Leader does a puff piece on Chris Lauzen (R-Batavia).

Lauzen’s name should never be mentioned in print without recapping his ridiculous effort to have his name officially changed to Chris Lauzen, CPA.

Steve Neal addressed it in March of 2001:

State Sen. Christopher J. Lauzen (R-Aurora) is going to court this month to have his name changed to "Christopher J. Lauzen, CPA."

Lauzen, 48, the 1998 Republican nominee for state comptroller, is adding the three letters to his name because he’s still angry about an opponent’s radio commercial that claimed Lauzen wasn’t a licensed certified public accountant. What is strange about Lauzen’s name change is that he won the Republican primary over this opponent.

Political rival Harry Seigle’s ad suggested that Lauzen was overstating his credentials. Lauzen recently told the Associated Press that although he doesn’t have a license to handle audits, he has state certification as an accountant. Lauzen says that he is changing his name to clear up any confusion about his professional status.

But in asking the Kane County Circuit Court’s permission to change his name, Lauzen is calling attention to an issue that was a nonstarter and making himself look silly. If becoming a household word is his goal, he could do worse than changing his name to "Christopher J. Lauzen, goofball."

It’s not all that unusual for politicians to legally adopt a more exciting ballot name than the one they were born with. Just as movie stars take on stage names that are designed to capture the public’s imagination, political hopefuls also play the name game.

Usually the candidates seeking this kind of attention are long shots. Mike the Mover, who ran for mayor of Seattle in 1997, legally acquired this moniker to promote his campaign and his moving business. The voters sent him packing.

The director of Nebraska’s Turtle Conservation Project, Angelika Byorth, legally changed her name last year to "Turtle Lady" and then ran for the state legislature.

Before his 1992 race for the U.S. House from the Northwest Side’s 5th District, businessman Elias R. Zenkich changed his middle name to "Non-Incumbent." If he had been elected, Zenkich would have presumably dropped his self-styled nickname. The voters let him keep it.

Former Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.) was less than pleased when Lauryn Valentine obtained court approval to change her name to Carol Moseley-Braun. When the copycat then attempted to run for the City Council from the 37th Ward, the court withdrew its permission and gave the senator back her name.

Arthur L. Janura Jr. set himself apart from other judicial hopefuls by misrepresenting his name for political advantage. When he ran for the Circuit Court in 1990, it was as a Democrat and under his full name. After losing, Janura learned that female candidates tended to get more votes than men in judicial elections. Four years later, he made another run for the court, this time as a Republican, with the ballot name of "A. Laurin Janura." I’m surprised he didn’t buy radio ads with "I Enjoy Being a Girl" as his theme song. Janura’s shameless misrepresentation didn’t work. The former Betty Jean Perske had better luck in changing her name to Lauren Bacall.

Janura, who later got appointed as an associate judge, has reverted to his first ballot name.

What is unusual about Lauzen’s name change is that he’s had a fairly successful political career. He is one for one in contested statewide primaries and, though he did poorly in the general election, might try again. But in adding "CPA" to his name, he’s acting like a goofball.

Lauzen adds new meaning to the phrase, petty twit.