Spiked

Local chef takes off, and political hopeful is just off

Comments (0) Thursday, Jul 10 2003

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So The Spike feels so much better that one of the main opponents now backing an effort to recall Neely over the day labor issue turns out to be Frances Emma Barwood. No wonder the recall campaign continues to bumble its way through the process.

Barwood is -- and this is just The Spike's opinion -- a total flake. We thought she'd vamoosed after her bizarre campaign for the 1998 Republican nomination for Arizona Secretary of State. A dim bulb former Phoenix city councilwoman known for only one thing -- asking the city to make an official inquiry into the "Phoenix Lights" UFO sightings of March 1997 -- Barwood raised her profile further when she announced she was running for statewide office by hiring two campaign managers. One would handle the traditional Secretary of State stuff (which, to Barwood, essentially meant keeping Mexican immigrants from voting), and the other would promote her interests in UFOs. She soon downplayed the influence of her UFO adviser, wingnut Stephen Bassett, but too late to avoid the inevitable label -- she was the E.T. candidate. She lost handily to Betsey Bayless in the primary, and then rode off into the sunset, moving to the rural town of Dewey.

RoxSand Scocos, in happier times.

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Since then, Barwood has rarely been heard from, unless you count the conspiratorial rants that occasionally make their way to the Internet -- not about little green men, but about her most consuming passion -- firearms. "Gun grabbers" is what Barwood labels those who would dare come between her and her beloved arsenal.

Yikes.

The Spike's money is on Peggy Neely in this political shoot-out.

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