Jim Hunt worried the Goodyear incentives would annoy Bridgestone.
The former governor told Gov. Mike Easley that he was concerned that the original bill would hurt the state's relationship with competitor Bridgestone Firestone, a Japanese company, according to Jack Betts' Sunday column in the Charlotte Observer.
Hunt worried that a bill favoring competitor Goodyear and snubbing Bridgestone Firestone would poison the state's relationship with Japanese economic interests. He made his views known to the governor.
As governor, Hunt pushed the state to recruit Japanese firms to North Carolina. He still lives in Wilson County, home of the Bridgestone plant.
Easley has often joked about how many times Hunt has called him, but it's usually on education or economic issues, not incentives, Betts writes.
Previously: Hunt's changes to governor's office led to showdown.
Update: A Hunt spokesman confirmed the former governor phoned Easley, but said he does not know the timing of the call.
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Re: Hunt's role in Goodyear, Part II
I don't think we should give Goodyear, Bridgestone or any other corporation our tax dollars. Goodyear has enough money to update their North Carolina plant. They are just playing our governor and general assembly for the "chumps" that they are. They have tax breaks, cheap labor and many other incentives to stay in North Carolina. We need our tax dollars for schools, roads, bridges and many other much more important things.