Things can get a little, uh, interesting when you share a similar name with a notorious sex trafficker.
Just ask Geoffrey Epstein.
The Massachusetts man is running for mayor in the Boston suburb of Framingham, population 70,000. His campaign materials, subtle as they are, practically demand a double-take:
Geoffrey, who goes by “Geoff,” told HuffPost he’s unsure if the added name recognition has helped or hindered his campaign to unseat incumbent Charlie Sisitsky. But he’s fairly sure most locals don’t really care.
Either way, he’s unwilling to cede the name to that other guy.
“No way,” said Epstein, when asked if he’d ever change his name. “I like my name and I am proud of my family,” he added, recounting his family history fighting in both Europe and the South Pacific in WWII.
“That other one is a dead American and I am a live Aussie,” he said. “But, of course, there is all the horrifying criminality and darkness of the other guy. I have lived my life trying to be straight up and improving things.”
Epstein didn’t respond when asked if there are any files he’d like to release.
And while Jeffrey didn’t graduate from college, Geoffrey has a Ph.D. in theoretical physics, with added experience in engineering, teaching, political activism and environmentalism.
Geoffrey also wryly noted he was born on Sept. 11, which, like his name, also won’t be changing anytime soon.