County’s Amazon HQ2 bid still kept a secret

Resolve unwavering despite Phila. release

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is holding firm in his resolve to keep the region’s bid for Amazon’s second headquarters a secret.

In an interview Tuesday, Mr. Fitzgerald said he wasn’t swayed by the fact that Philadelphia, a top competitor in the Amazon sweepstakes, released its proposal last month.

Mr. Fitzgerald said local political leaders have no intention of doing the same, pointing out that what was released by Philadelphia was heavily redacted.

“The object is to be successful. Giving out our information to all the other cities, I think, would put us at a competitive disadvantage,” he said.

Numerous local news organizations, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, have filed right-to-know requests with the city, the county or both in a bid to obtain the proposals. Many of those requests, including the Post-Gazette’s, have been denied and are now under appeal to the state’s office of open records.

Local leaders, including Mr. Fitzgerald and Mayor Bill Peduto, have released little in the way of concrete details about the proposal since filing it with Amazon in October. The online retailer has received 238 proposals for HQ2.

Regional officials have refused to divulge any of the potential sites or local and state incentives being offered for HQ2, which, according to Amazon, could bring up to $5 billion in investment and as many as 50,000 jobs over a period of up to 17 years.