Floridian Governor Takes Control of Disney World’s Self-Governing District
In the latest of concerning news to come out of Florida, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill yesterday that grants him control over Disney World’s self-governing district as punishment for the media giant’s public opposition to the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.
Having a separate government was a key part of Disney’s decision to build near Orlando in the 1960’s. It provided the company freedom from state oversight allowing it to issue bonds and provide zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure services on its land without interference. Originally planning to build a futuristic city, the company ultimately decided on building a second theme park – Epcot.
Republican critics have long bemoaned the unfair advantage this freedom gives Disney but certainly this wasn’t the first time concessions were made for a big corporation in exchange for job creation. And on that front Disney certainly delivered with approximately 80,000 Floridians currently being employed at the Orlando site alone.
The new bill allows DeSantis to appoint a five-member board that will oversee the government services the Disney district provides on its properties. To that end he has announced that he will appoint Tampa attorney Martin Garcia as the chairman of the district’s new governing board, along with the following board members: Bridget Ziegler, a conservative school board member and wife of Florida Republican party chairman Christian Ziegler; Brian Aungst Jr., an attorney and son of a former two-term Republican mayor of Clearwater; Mike Sasso, an attorney; and Ron Peri, head of The Gathering USA ministry, an evangelical group.
The new law also changes the district’s name from the Reedy Creek Improvement District to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and will obviously subject it to various layers of state oversight. Board members were previously named through entities controlled by Disney.
“Today the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” DeSantis said at a bill-signing ceremony in Lake Buena Vista. “There’s a new sheriff in town, and accountability will be the order of the day.”
The signing comes as the Floridian governor releases a new book and gears up for a rumored Presidential run in 2024, capitalizing on the division and conservative idealism that has surfaced in the wake of the Trump era. In taking on Disney, DeSantis has furthered his reputation as a ‘culture warrior’ taking on those he views as political enemies and wielding the power of state government to accomplish political goals, a dangerous precedent indeed.
