Whatever you do, just don’t call him Goofy
Meet Michael Walt Disney, a local political challenger who officially changed his name from M-O-N-I-Z
WOONSOCKET — Watch out Gov. Gina Raimondo – you might find one of your challengers in the next election cycle has a famous name and a bunch of friends in show business.
Say hello to Walt Disney – as in Michael Walt Disney.
Never heard of him? Yes, you have – if you voted in a local election here anytime in the last couple of decades, that is. He just went by a different name: Michael E. Moniz.
Moniz, er, Disney, may be the most persistent and unsuccessful figure in city politics. Even he can’t remember how many times he’s run for public office – and lost. “A lot,” he allows. The 69-year-old widower from Mount Vernon Apartments had his name legally changed recently in Woonsocket Probate Court. But he didn’t choose the birthright of the father of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck to win more votes at the polls.
Identity theft was the reason, says the new Mr. Disney. He went to court after he was alerted that someone was using his name to buy mail order gifts and cheese products.
“They were buying things under my name from Fingerhut and Swiss Colony,” he says.
While the name change was necessary – adopting that of the founder of the Disney empire was no accident. Plain and simple, says the new Disney – Walt Disney is his hero and all things Disney are his obsession.
“‘They said, ‘If you’re going to change your name, why don’t you change it to Disney?’” — Michael Walt Disney, above, who changed his name because of identity theft issues
“I’ve been to Disney World a hundred times,” he says. He keeps count? No, says the ex-Moniz, but Disney World does. Disney has been going to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., two or three times a year since the 1980s, and he’s been collecting Disney memorabilia even longer.
The ground-floor apartment in the hilltop complex off Bernon Street where he resides is packed with Mickey Mouse dishes and Christmas ornaments, Disney movies, Minnie Mouse drinking glasses and an otherwise overabundant cornucopia of evidence that the local Disney is a true believer.
He says he usually takes the bus to Florida and shops for deals. He can afford the minivacations because he doesn’t waste his money on bad habits, like drinking and cigarettes. Disney says he’s also saved a lot of money over time by refusing to drive. He doesn’t own a car.
More than 2,000 Disney toys are among his memorabilia, but in all likelihood, there is no item Disney is more proud of than an original Mickey Mouse Club shirt – just like the one Annette Funicello wore on the 50s-era TV show.
During a conversation at home, Disney audibly rummages through his closet in search of the item, which he appears to have misplaced. “Here it is,” comes the muffled announcement from another room and soon he emerges in the kitchen, hoisting the item like a trophy as he beams with pride.
“It’s a collector’s item,” he says.
It was only natural for him to choose the name Disney when the problem with identity theft came up, he says. Friends who know of his passion for Disney culture had been calling him Walt Disney for so long, they suggested that he make it official.
“They said, ‘If you’re going to change your name, why don’t you change it to Disney?’” he said.
The former Moniz worked as a maintenance man for McDonald’s for 28 years, but he was forced to retire with an illness a few years ago. He likes singing as a hobby and once earned top honors in a singing contest at the Elks Club, winning over the skeptics with his rich croon.
He says he’s seriously thinking of auditioning for TV’s “American Idol.” He has a sister who’s handling the red tape.
During the last 20 years or so, before he changed his name, he has run for mayor, City Council and statewide offices. He’s consistently managed to secure the necessary number of signatures on his nomination papers to win a spot on the ballot, but his campaigns always seems to fizzle afterwards. He’s seldom heard from in the thick of the campaign season and on election day he usually falls far short of the mark, sometimes garnering just a few dozen votes.
The one exception to the rule came a few years ago, when he won a seat as a state Democratic committeeman.
As far as he knows, he still holds the elective position, and filled out the necessary paperwork to march in the Autumnfest parade on Columbus Day as an elected official. He was planning to stake out a spot in the queue near Congressman David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.).
Officially, Moniz changed his name to Michael Disney – no middle name Walt. But he uses Walt Disney informally and even signed his marching papers for Autumnfest with the name.
And he’s not kidding about running for governor against Raimondo. He says a lot of his friends and neighbors are telling him how unhappy they are with the governor.
“A lot of people are telling me I should run next year,” he says.
The city’s Disney isn’t sure if the new last name will yield a better result at the polls, but it already seems to be having a rather salutary effect on his social life. Areluctant bachelor, the man who reinvented himself as a Disney says things seem to be looking up with members of the opposite sex since he changed his name.
“Everywhere I go, it’s “Hi Mr. Disney!’‘How are you Mr. Disney!’”