Gov. Chris Sununu is continuing to beat the drum for Amazon’s attention — in media interviews, at least — as the online shopping giant scouts out a second location for its headquarters.
“They’d be crazy not to,” Sununu told WBZ Nightside host Dan Rea Wednesday night.
Last week, New Hampshire’s economic development director said officials were evaluating what the state might have to offer. Separately, a group of residents have launched a Facebook page and accompanying petition encouraging the state to court the corporate giant.
Speaking to the Boston-based radio station this week, Sununu acknowledged the company is “making very big demands on anyone who wants to, quote, bid on it.” (To read the company's official request for proposals, click here.)
“We have a few weeks to put a proposal together,” the governor continued. “Right now, southern New Hampshire, you wouldn’t think of it as qualifying — but in reality, it’s far and away the best place you could put a company like this.”
Among the perks Sununu cited in his on-air pitch: “We have far and away the best tax climate in the country,” “the highest per capita income” and “one of the best qualities of life you’re going to find.” Plus, he added, “we don’t have the traffic and congestion” seen in other areas.
"When you look at what we have to offer, the fact that we’re completing our four-lane highway. The infrastructure is there. We have the acreage. We can support the employees, we can support the housing without the incredibly high cost of living like you have down here in Boston. I mean, Boston’s doing well, don’t get me wrong, that’s great. But to bring in what they’re looking, a full hundreds of acres of a campus — you put it right 45 minutes north, in tax-free New Hampshire. it’s an absolute home-run. So we have to get them to think out of the box a little bit, but that’s what Amazon does. They’re very good out-of-the-box thinkers."
The state, of course, has steep competition — and not just from its neighboring metropolis. Dozens of other metro areas, from Denver to Durham to D.C., are also reportedly interested in wooing the company.
