SAN ANTONIO – District 6 Councilman Greg Brockhouse criticized Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff’s decision not to pursue Amazon’s second headquarters.
“San Antonio, you deserved better in the pursuit of Amazon HQ2,” Brockhouse said in an open letter written to the city on Wednesday.
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Last week, Nirenberg and Wolff wrote a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos that they’re open to negotiations with Amazon, but that “giving away the farm isn’t our style.”
“I’m sure the councilman means well, but his facts are incorrect. We speak with one voice on economic development, and it's important that we do that and that we don't go off the reservation and conduct rogue foreign policy that would exploit taxpayers for someone's own personal gain,” Nirenberg said.
“I believe it poked too much at our citizens and our workforce and our inability to compete on a national, global stage, so I want to distinctly tell the people of San Antonio that there are many of us who believe this was a missed opportunity,” Brockhouse said.
Amazon is promising $5 billion of investment and over 50,000 jobs to whichever city lands the second headquarters. The winning city would likely have to provide Amazon with tax breaks and other incentives.
WEB EXTRAS:
Read Brockhouse’s original statement here and Wednesday’s letter to the city here.
Read the Nirenberg’s and Wolff’s letter to Bezos here.
