Pittsburgh's Amazon Bid Still Shrouded In Secrecy

PITTSBURGH, PA - Should southwestern Pennsylvania residents be privy to the details of Pittsburgh’s proposal to entice Amazon to put its sought-after second headquarters here? City and Allegheny County officials think not.

Despite numerous Right-to-Know requests that have been filed, city and county officials continue to refuse to release any information on the proposal, reportedly two inches thick. Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald on Tuesday released a joint statement attempting to justify their secrecy.

“We are not going to show our playbook,” the statement said in part. “This is a competition with more than 200 other communities nationwide. We believe not disclosing the details of our playbook provides a competitive advantage.”

Forged by a team of civic, business, university and foundation leader, the bid was submitted last month to Amazon, which has committed to investing as much as $50 billion in its new campus. The e-commerce giant next year will select the winning location, which eventually could have as many as 50,000 employees.

Many other cities have remained mum on the details of their pitch. Earlier this month, Colorado publicly released its 23-page Amazon proposal. But 11 of the pages contained redacted information, including the financial incentives Denver is offering.

Toronto and the state of New Hampshire have released their bids in their entirety on their websites. But cities such as Louisville, Kansas City and St. Louis have taken positions similar to Pittsburgh’s in not revealing the facts and figures of their Amazon proposals.

Barring a media outlet proving successful in challenging the Right-to-Know denial in court, the secrecy surrounding Pittsburgh’s bid is unlikely to change.

“We believe that Pittsburgh is a strong contender for Amazon’s HQ2,” Peduto and Fitzgerald said in their release. “Our proposal defines why in detail, and in the midst of an unprecedented competition, we continue to believe that it is in the region’s best interest if those details – at this point in the process – are for Amazon’s consideration only.”

Photo via Associated Press.