Wind group denies involvement in Oklahoma lawmaker tracking

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Wind Coalition denies that it hired a Texas political consultant to follow an Oklahoma legislator.

Court records show the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation found that political consultant George C. Shipley hired private investigators who placed a tracker on state Rep. Mark McBride’s vehicle.

The Oklahoman reports that McBride discovered the tracker in December and suspected it was put there because the wind industry wants to discredit him because he’s working on legislation that would tax wind-energy companies.

Jeff Clark is president of the industry trade association, which was created to encourage the development of wind energy as a power source. He says that while an internet search shows that the coalition has the same address as Shipley & Associates, the information is outdated and the association wasn’t involved in the opposition research.