The shakeup of Walt Disney World’s governing district greater than a 12 months after it was taken over by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees continued Wednesday with the departure of its board chairman who had been extremely essential of Disney.
Martin Garcia’s departure as chairman of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is coming per week after the district’s administrator, Glen Gilzean, left to accept an appointment by DeSantis as interim elections supervisor in Orange County, the house of Orlando, at half his district’s $400,000 wage.
Martin didn’t reply to an electronic mail and telephone message looking for touch upon Wednesday. He was appointed by DeSantis final 12 months to a time period that was speculated to expire in February 2027.
In an electronic mail, DeSantis’ communications director, Bryan Griffin, thanked Garcia for “successfully navigating” the transition of the district from a governing physique managed by Disney supporters to the present iteration managed by DeSantis appointees.
Garcia “developed a new district focused on transparency and the elimination of corporate welfare,” Griffin mentioned.
The Republican governor additionally beneficial {that a} former senior advisor, Stephanie Kopelousos, be named the district’s new administrator. Kopelousos was a director of legislative affairs for DeSantis and beforehand served in different administrations of Florida governors.
“We are glad to see her step into this leadership role as the District embarks upon the next chapter in its efforts to ensure an even and transparent playing field for the businesses that operate in Central Florida,” Griffin mentioned.
For the reason that takeover final 12 months, the district has confronted an exodus of skilled staffers, with many in exit surveys complaining that the governing physique has been politicized because the changeover, and plenty of litigation. The district offers municipal providers corresponding to firefighting, planning and mosquito management, amongst different issues, and was managed by Disney supporters for many of its 5 a long time.
A battle between DeSantis and Disney started in 2022 after the corporate, going through significant internal and external pressure, publicly opposed a state legislation that critics have referred to as “Don’t Say Gay.” The 2022 legislation banned classroom classes on sexual orientation and gender identification in early grades and was championed by DeSantis, who used Disney as a punching bag in speeches till he suspended his presidential campaign this 12 months.
As punishment for opposition to the legislation, DeSantis took over the district by way of laws handed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature and appointed a brand new board of supervisors.
Disney sued DeSantis and his appointees, claiming the corporate’s free speech rights had been violated for talking out in opposition to the laws. A federal decide dismissed that lawsuit in January. Disney has appealed.
A separate lawsuit over who controls the district continues to be pending in state court docket in Orlando.
A settlement agreement over the “Don’t Say Gay” laws was reached this week between Florida schooling officers and civil rights teams that had challenged the constitutionality of the legislation on behalf of fogeys, college students and others. The legislation stays intact, however the deal spells out that the Florida legislation doesn’t prohibit discussing LGBTQ+ folks, forestall anti-bullying guidelines primarily based on sexual orientation and gender identification, or disallow Homosexual-Straight Alliance teams.
