One Candidate Who Can Phil the Bill : Fame: The Meister who’s running for the Connecticut Legislature isn’t the same one on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ But his signs have become collectors’ items.

Phil, the Philmeister, running for office, wants to get elected. Phil-O-Rama, the Philibuster, Phil.

Phil Meister is his name, and he is running for state representative.

But to teen-agers in West Hartford, he is the Philmeister, a cult hero whose campaign signs are cardboard monuments to Richard, the dweeby character on “Saturday Night Live” who is obsessed with name games.

In the show’s skits, Richard, played by Rob Schneider, sits by the copy machine all day long, mangling people’s names in his droning tone. A co-worker walks in the room, to make some copies, and the Richmeister goes to work. Randy, the Randmeister, making copies. The Rand-inator, reading the Rand McNally road atlas. Randy.

So when fans of Richard saw the “Phil Meister” signs around town, they could not help themselves. Meister’s campaign has reported that more than 30 of the signs have been swiped during the past weeks.

A teen-ager caught by police confessed that the signs are collectors’ items, used as adornments for kids’ rooms. The Philmeister, hanging in my room, Philling up space on the wall. I found my Phil on Blueberry Hill. Waxing Philosophical. Phil.

Even before Meister heard why the signs were being stolen, there were hints he was becoming a cult figure among young people.

“I was going door to door on Foxcroft Road and three kids asked me for my autograph, but they didn’t say why,” Meister said. “At another house, this guy invited me in, then he called his kids and said, ‘Hey, here’s the Philmeister.’ ”

Meister, a 37-year-old lawyer, is facing incumbent Miles S. Rapoport in a Democratic primary in the 18th House District. As a first-time candidate, Meister was pleasantly surprised to find people knew his name when he began campaigning this summer.

But when he heard his campaign signs were being given as gifts, he thought something was screwy.

“In front of Waldbaum’s a young man said he knew my name because a friend of his got one of my signs as a birthday present. That really threw me off,” Meister said.

None of this notoriety bothers Meister because it means name recognition, even if people are thinking of a comedy skit.

Meister said he had heard of the “Saturday Night Live” character because someone told him his name would fit right in to one of Richard’s rantings.

But when he started campaigning, he had no idea of the power his name would have.

Now that he knows, Meister said, he wants to accommodate Philmeister fans. He said he is willing to sell the signs to anyone who wants them at cost: about $3.50.

“I don’t want to see anyone get arrested,” Meister said.

The one teen-ager who was caught stealing a sign was not arrested, because Meister did not press charges. The Philmeister, helping out the kids. Philadelphia Phil, being Philanthropic. The Philman. Phil.