Category Archives: News

Former Arizona Governor Now Admits Seeing UFO

Anderson Cooper, CNN, News

On the tenth anniversary of the Arizona UFO incident, known as the “Phoenix Lights,” former Arizona Republican Governor Fife Symington, III, now says that he himself was a witness to one of the strange unidentified flying objects, even though he originally did not say so publicly.

“It was enormous and inexplicable,” he said in an exclusive interview from his home in Phoenix. “Who knows where it came from? A lot of people saw it, and I saw it too.”

On March 13, 1997, during Symington’s second term as Governor, thousands saw multiple triangular and V-shaped craft, gliding slowly and silently across the sky for half an hour beginning at approximately 8:15 pm. Awestruck witnesses, throughout the state, estimated that the eerie, lighted vehicles were bigger than many football fields, up to a mile long.

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You may also watch a CNN Anderson Cooper 360 interview with Fife about the lights.

Symington Loses Vote in Precinct Hostile to McCain

Arizona Republic, News

In his first-ever political defeat, former Gov. Fife Symington lost his bid Tuesday to become Republican chairman of McCain’s home legislative district in north-central Phoenix. Symington was not considered conservative enough to defeat District 11 incumbent Rob Haney, a retired IBM manager who took over the organization two years ago and has been outspoken in his criticism of McCain.

“This factionalism has hurt GOP candidates, and it cost (Hesselbrock) his seat,” Symington said. “A district chair should bring Republicans together, not make war on one of your important national officeholders and a potential president. This does not bode well for the district in terms of a Republican future, in my view.”

Symington said District 11 Republicans should be trying to come together to reclaim ground lost in the last election, not picking fights over ideological differences.

“The vitriol is very high against McCain, which is just nuts,” Symington said. “The general public understands, or needs to understand, that just because that kind of noise is coming out of District 11, it doesn’t indicate a lack of support for McCain. That viewpoint is prevailing in that small bubble, but McCain is enormously popular.”

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Symington Elects Not to Run

KPHO, News

On May 5, 2005, John Fife Symington III announced that he would not run for Governor of Arizona in 2006. Here’s the official announcement from KPHO-CBS 5 News:

Click here to watch the video segment.

Previously, in early February, Symington had expressed profound interest in competing against Janet Napolitano who, he said, failed to carry out promised tax reforms. He also faulted her all-day kindergarten plans as unrealistic and unaffordable.

Symington was “expected to release a statement this morning (May 5) that will say he will not rule out a future run for public office.” He said that after giving the race “tremendous thought over the last few months,” he chose to focus his attention on his consulting firm, the Symington Group.

There was a flurry of press activity after Symington’s original announcement of his intent to run.

‘The Governor’ definitely gets my vote – as dessert

Mark Kimble, News, Tucson Citizen

“Symington said his thoughts to oppose Napolitano when she seeks re-election next year galvanized just six weeks ago when he was invited to Napolitano’s State of the State speech. Symington sat in the front row, barely 20 feet from Napolitano. I watched him hang on her every word.

‘I had not been to a speech like that before’

Symington said Tuesday. What really bedeviled him was Democrat Napolitano’s call for state-funded all-day kindergarten. Because parents would decide whether to send their children, Napolitano called it ‘school choice.’

As governor, Symington was a constant supporter of school vouchers.

‘She was being too cute and clever and trying to foist one over on the public’

Symington said of Napolitano’s speech. Napolitano also took a slap at Symington-pushed tax cuts.

His retort:

‘The tax cuts were one of the best thing to happen to this state.’

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