Sen. Rick Scott wants Amazon to bring headquarters to Florida

Former governor pens letter to Jeff Bezos

Sen. Rick Scott is hoping that New York's loss will be Florida's gain.

New York City's Queens borough was supposed to be one of two split sites for Amazon's new HQ2 location, but it recently canceled that plan amid backlash from members of the community and local politicians.

Although it's unclear if Amazon officials are looking for a new site, especially since some reports indicate that New York could still be an option, Scott, R-Fla., wrote in a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos that Florida would be a better choice.

"While I can't argue with New York's inhospitable business climate and anti-growth political leaders, I don't think that should limit Amazon's expansion plans. Florida presents an easy alternative," Scott wrote.

He said residents in the Sunshine State would greatly benefit from the 25,000 jobs the headquarters would bring and the company would prosper as a result of Florida's business friendly climate.

"We have ... (made) Florida the most business friendly state in the country - we have no state income tax and over the last eight years we cut $10 billion in taxes, eliminated thousands of regulations and reduced state debt by almost $10 million," Scott wrote.

Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed a similar sentiment on Wednesday during an event in The Villages.

"You're not going to hear me or (House Speaker Jose) Aliva or any of the people in Florida push away people that want to bring jobs to our state. I'm not going to demonize people or companies.
If (U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez) doesn't want Amazon, they can come to Florida. I'll welcome them here," DeSantis said.

Orlando was among hundreds of cities that vied to be the home of HQ2 but in January 2018, the city was notified that it didn't make the final cut.

Bezos has not yet responded to Scott's letter.


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