The ongoing battle saga between Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continued today as a DeSantis-appointed board met for the first time since learning Disney stripped them of their power, and spoiler: they are ready to go to war.
The fight with Disney, Florida’s largest employer, began when the company spoke out against DeSantis’ so called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans talk of gender or sexuality in third grade classes and below. The board is supposed to oversee a special district that handles Walt Disney World operations, like building and taxes. The new board, comprised of five of DeSantis allies, promised to push for more oversight with Disney, per NBC.
The outgoing board voted on a clause to essentially strip the board of its power, with a fun punch: Disney would remain in control until “21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England.”
Initially, DeSantis threatened to remove Disney’s ability to govern itself, but pulled back when he realized Florida would be on the hook for the taxes if he did. So instead he decided to remove members of the board and replace them with his allies. It’s now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.
DeSantis does not like being one-upped, especially with his “new sheriff in town” rhetoric. He whined, threatened to build a prison near Disney World and said Floridians should “buckle up” for more.
This brings us to the present. The board met for the first time since the changes and boy were they fiery. The board chairman is Martin Garcia, who worships DeSantis.
“Disney’s lobbying and marketing campaign succeeded for 55 years. It succeeded for more than a century, above all, because nobody in Tallahassee was willing to shine a light on this agreement. Then Governor Ron DeSantis courageously — and I repeat courageously — called it out.” Interesting he has time to speak when his lips are usually glued to the Governor’s butt.
Some of the proposed changes by the board include zoning changes on the land to allow for affordable housing, hiring lawyers to fight Disney’s claim that property assessments are too high and hiring an “independent rate consultant” to look into how the utility company in the district sets rates.
The board will also draw up a report for DeSantis to guide future changes in the district. It also wants to monetize assets and “raise revenues,” which is a reference to the board’s power to levy fees and compile tax rates. They’ve also hired lawyers to reverse Disney’s move to strip the board of power.
“Another reason we are going to have to raise revenues is because of the expenses that we are having to incur to deal with these illegal agreements,” Garcia said. The board said it would get rid of the previous agreement, and DeSantis is trying to force through a law in Florida congress that would do the same.
Finally, lawyers gave a presentation chastising Disney for its quick switcheroo. One of those lawyers is David Thompson, a partner with Washington law firm Cooper Kirk. He called the agreement Disney made with itself “completely one sided.”
“Disney takes governmental power for itself for decades and offered the district precisely nothing in return. The bottom line is that Disney engaged in a caper worthy of Scrooge McDuck to try to evade Florida law.” He said the agreements were “null and void” because Disney didn’t notify the board properly. However, Disney went through the proper legal channels to make its move, so it’s going to be a real fight.
It’s also worth noting that this whole thing is happening because a thin-skinned Governor can’t handle when things don’t go his way. This doesn’t bode well for the future. This is far from the last we’re going to hear about this. Your move, Disney.
