Chaz Stevens to Announce Bid for Deerfield Commission Tonight; Decides Not to Hire Mariachi Band

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No mariachi band in Deerfield tonight.

​Tireless blogger, tenacious gadfly, and prolific Juice commenter Chaz Stevens hopes to add a new line to his business card: Deerfield Beach Commissioner. The ubiquitous Stevens will announce his 2011 candidacy against incumbent Joe Miller at tonight's meeting.

"It's real simple: I care about three things," says Stevens. "Corruption -- that's my trademark. I will accept no money from the firefighters. And I'll accept no money from the developers. So I won't be beholden to anybody."

But will there be musical accompaniment to this announcement?
Unfortunately not. Stevens originally planned on spending $140 on a mariachi band, which was to play "La Bamba" during the three minutes Stevens had during the public comment period. Those plans have changed.

"I was going to do a mariachi band, but I'm getting assistance from some name-brand players on the campaign who said the last thing you want to do is to make it look like you're making a joke of this campaign," says Stevens. "So I'm playing it straight."

A Sun-Sentinel film crew is planning to be there for the announcement -- it's part of the paper's upcoming feature story about South Florida's most exotic gadflies.

Stevens will make no effort to reinvent himself for the campaign. He's running on his record of activism. "I don't think people want a politician -- I'm a private citizen, but I'm doing more than any elected official," says Stevens. "I care about this town. I've been here 30 years."