She is often said to be based on Millicent Fenwick, a Republican member of Congress from New Jersey, although Trudeau has denied this link.
Lacey later became a major character when she ran as the Republican candidate for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in the mid-1970s, serving a district comprising the San Francisco Bay Area.
Her opponents in the election were Virginia "Ginny" Slade, who ran as an independent, and the incumbent, Congressman Ventura, the Democratic nominee.
For a while the race was close, but with Lacey and Ginny fighting over votes, their mutual opponent (whom they both found to be highly immoral) was unifying his support and coming out ahead.
Dick Davenport, a bird watcher, died in 1986 due to a massive coronary brought on by observing the possibly extinct Bachman's warbler, managing to snap a photo before collapsing.