I bet without even trying, I could sit down and write a list of over a hundred different characters I'd rather see than him.
In fact, if I put even a tad bit of effort into it, I could probably come up with over 100 different 1st Party Nintendo characters I'd rather see. I'd rather have the Club Mario guys than him. (Satellite surfin' is where it's at, ya' know.)
I don't know why there's even a petition for this. I can't think of any reason why anybody would want to play as him other than the "ha ha look how funny and unexpected this is!" factor, and even then there are STILL a lot of people that work work better.