Keith Olbermann probably doesn’t know Beverlee McClure.
But if he did, she surely would qualify for his daily Countdown feature, “Worst Person in the World,” based on comments she made at a meeting of local business leaders recently.
First, who is McClure?
She is President and CEO of the Association of Commerce and Industry (ACI), an organization that describes itself as a statewide Chamber of Commerce. According to its website, ACI’s sponsoring corporate “investors” include Bank of America, PNM, SunCal New Mexico, Chevron, Altria Client Services, (Phillip Morris), AT&T, Xcel Energy, Lovelace Health Systems, and PayDay Inc.
McClure has a very impressive background. Her bio tells us that she started her career with RJR Nabisco, went on to earn her doctorate in education at the University of Texas, served seven years as President of Clovis Community College, and then was appointed by Governor Bill Richardson to be the first Secretary of the new state Department of Higher Education in 2005.
Less than two years later, Dr. McClure bailed on Richardson’s cabinet to snag the post as head of ACI.
So what’s the problem?
According to a story last week in the Albuquerque Journal (“Businesses ‘Slept’ in Last Election”), McClure issued a call to arms to the business community at a meeting of the Economic Forum, challenging it to wake up and back conservative candidates in the upcoming state election.
The trouble is that most of what McClure was without basis in fact – she simply made the stuff up.
This is what the Journal reported: