Kansas ceremonially breaks ground on Panasonic plant — six days before the election
With construction well underway behind them, Kansas officials joined Panasonic executives Wednesday to ceremonially break ground on De Soto’s new electric vehicle battery plant.
The event came six days before Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly stands for reelection.
Panasonic was originally set to begin construction on the $4 billion plant in September after officials announced in July Kansas had been chosen for the project. Wednesday’s event consisted of pomp and circumstance celebrating work that had already begun.
“November 2nd is an even better day (than the announcement) because we are finally building this facility,” Kelly said.
She and other state and local officials and Japanese Consul General Hiroshi Tajima lauded the new relationship between Kansas and Panasonic. They recounted Kansas’ efforts to woo the company — which included a song written and recorded for the company by a top Kansas Department of Commerce staffer.
“This type of approach, writing a song, is certainly not traditional for economic development but it exemplifies the culture and the spirit of the Kelly administration. How can we do more? How can we think outside of the box and set ourselves apart?” Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland said.
Megan Lee, chairwoman and CEO of Panasonic North America said the song made an impression but also lauded the bipartisan work that went into recruiting the company.
“From the moment I stepped foot in Kansas it was clear to me that De Soto and the region had been blessed with organizations who are committed to making a positive impact,” she said.
Kansas lawmakers and officials signed non-disclosure agreements to pass legislation aimed at recruiting the company. Kansas awarded the company $829 million in incentives with no job or wage requirements for the majority of the money.
Though the event was an official function it featured refrains often heard from Kelly on the campaign trail where she’s in a tight race against Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
She touted Kansas’ funding of education and presented Panasonic as a transformative achievement. She said it was one among many economic development accomplishments her administration has touted without providing numbers for how many jobs were truly created or how much was spent in incentives to get them.
“Panasonic doesn’t represent the end of our economic development efforts, far from it, we are just getting started,” Kelly said.
In July, when Kelly announced Panasonic would come to Kansas, the event was well attended by Republican lawmakers. U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran spoke to the crowd.
On Wednesday, state Rep. Troy Waymaster was the only Republican lawmaker in attendance though a spokesperson for Kelly said Republican leaders were invited. Waymaster said the event seemed like a campaign push.
“I don’t think it’ll matter because there’s always been ads that they’ve been running and stories about Panasonic coming to the state of Kansas,” Waymaster said.
A spokesperson for Toland told The Star Panasonic didn’t formally sign off on the event until Monday. Kelly cited logistics, not her campaign, for the delayed event.
“The timing of these kinds of events is always strategically planned but it’s strategically planned in that it’s a lot to get all those players together at one time and this is the time that worked out for both the state and for Panasonic and for the local community,” Kelly said.
