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Capito to Amazon: ‘Please come to W.Va.’

By JIM McCONVILLE

The Journal

CHARLESTON, W.Va.  — West Virginia House Delegate Moore Capito is asking Seattle-based Amazon to add the Mountain State to its short list of location candidates for its second corporate headquarters.

Capito, R-Kanawha, has sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos asking he consider placing West Virginia on his “top locations to choose from” list.

U.S. Sen. Capito

Amazon recently announced plans to invest $5 billion to build a second North American headquarters that would be called “Amazon HQ2,” which could potentially create up to 50,000 jobs.

Delegate Capito said West Virginia could be an ideal fit for Amazon’s vision, because the company could not only build a headquarters, but a surrounding community from the ground up.

“West Virginia presents a level of autonomy no other state can,” Capito said in his letter. “Your company (Amazon) requires a facility, but here you can build a community that houses a facility. We have the best and hardest working people in the country. With an abundance of land, energy, and natural beauty, Amazon’s HQ2 can meet and exceed its business needs, while invigorating the hope of a people and chartering a path to the future for an entire state.”

While business analysts say large cities including Boston and Atlanta are a likely fit for Amazon’s search criteria, Capito said. West Virginians shouldn’t automatically count themselves out.

“For us to win, we have to compete,” Capito said. “We have to think big and without limitations when we think about our future.”

And, according to Capito, there’s a sound ulterior motive to his corporate courting madness.

Even if Amazon doesn’t actually seriously consider or choose West Virginia for its second corporate home, Capito says the state still stands to benefit.

By throwing West Virginia’s name out there, it may pique other corporate companies’ interest to invest here, Capito said.

“I made a commitment to my constituents to make every effort to bring jobs to West Virginia, and that is what I am trying to do,” Capito said. “West Virginians are hard-working, dedicated people and any company would be well-served by expanding in our state.”

Staff writer Jim McConville can be reached at 304-263-8931, ext. 215, or Twitter@jmcconvilleJN.

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