Cooper team traveled to Japan in failed bid for Toyota-Mazda plant

Why geography doomed NC's shot at Toyota-Mazda plant

North Carolina's recruitment effort included a heavy push from Cooper and state legislative leaders to ensure the companies "'feel the love," documents from the incentive process show. That included a trip by the governor, Commerce Secretary Tony Copeland, Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon, Cooper senior adviser Ken Eudy and a two-man security detail to Tokyo Dec. 14 to 18.

The total cost of the trip to the state, including airfare, hotel accommodations and meals, was about $55,000.

Department of Commerce spokeswoman Beth Gargan said the state had been in discussions with the two companies throughout the selection process. But in early December, officials got a last-minute window to meet with the "highest-level decision makers" in Japan.

"The objective of those meetings was to give us the opportunity to outline the rationale to choose North Carolina to locate their site," Gargan said.

Cooper was forced to fly from Raleigh to Washington to retrieve his passport before flying separately from his secretaries to Tokyo, records show.

Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for the governor, said Cooper never ended up taking the trip to China.

Alongside Copeland and Cooper, Gargan said Trogdon was able to provide expertise and knowledge to discuss the work Toyota and Mazda needed done on the megasite to open the plant on time.

"There was a lot of site preparation that needed to be done, and DOT would be the agency that would handle the majority of that site preparation," Gargan said.

Travel records from several state agencies show that Trogdon and Copeland had first-class tickets on the two-hour flight legs to and from Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Detroit. Gargan said Delta Airlines automatically upgrades domestic flights to first-class when customers book business class on international travel, and the state didn't pay anything extra.

Travel is a common part of the economic development process, Gargan said, although it's more often domestic than overseas. State leaders try to control costs by keeping the delegation small, she said.

"We don't do a lot of international travel as part of our business recruitment process," she said. "But when it's warranted for us to stay competitive, and if it's a make-or-break situation that we would jeopardize losing the project, then we're going to consider it and make the right decision."

Despite losing the project, Copeland said in a statement that the state's work to recruit the joint venture puts North Carolina "in a better position for future competition in the global marketplace."

"Had we not traveled to Japan to meet with the final decision makers, North Carolina would not have remained in consideration for 4,000 new jobs and $1.6 billion in new investment," Copeland said in a statement Friday afternoon.

Following the announcement that Toyota and Mazda selected Alabama over North Carolina, Cooper spokesman Ford Porter confirmed to WRAL News on Feb. 6 that Cooper and his delegation took the the trip. That's when WRAL reporters submitted a records request for travel documents and receipts.

Neither the press nor the public was notified of the governor's absence, and his public schedule for these days notes only that "throughout the day, Governor Cooper will be holding meetings and conducting other business."

Porter noted, however, that Cooper told both Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and Republican legislative leaders about the overseas travel. A spokesperson with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, who helms the executive branch in Cooper's absence, said Cooper called Forest directly to inform him about the trip but did not provide details.