If creating a city for Amazon isn't enough to recruit the company to Georgia, maybe making the company's CEO its permanent mayor will be.
How does Amazon Mayor Jeff Bezos sound?
Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary said Wednesday he will seek state legislation to install Bezos as the unelected leader of Amazon, Ga. — if the company chooses to bring its giant corporate hub called HQ2 to the area.
“Think about this: You can get your package shipped from Amazon, Ga., from their own post office, and have the corporate CEO as the mayor of that town, forever if he likes,” Lary said. “What that does is give him the eternal brand that he’s looking for.”
Stonecrest is one of many cities from across the country seeking to lure Amazon to their areas. The company set a Thursday deadline for bidders to submit incentive packages for the company.
The Stonecrest City Council already voted 4-2 earlier this month to de-annex 345 acres of land if the e-commerce giant picks the area for its expansion, which is expected to bring 50,000 jobs.
The proposal to make Bezos (or his designee) the mayor would have to be written into state law and approved by the Georgia General Assembly, Lary said.
Another benefit for Bezos and Amazon: They wouldn’t have to do the work of actually managing a city government. The city of Stonecrest could handle municipal services for the company, Lary said.
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