New rulers have taken over Cinderella Castle.
Gov. Ron DeSantis named the five board members who will control Disney World’s government board during a press conference at Lake Buena Vista as he signed the new Reedy Creek measure. The legislation strips Disney of its ability to pick its own government board members and instead gives that power to the Governor.
“Today the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” DeSantis said. “There’s a new Sheriff in town, and accountability will be the order of the day.”
The new board members are:
— Bridget Ziegler, a Sarasota County School Board member and one of the original founders of the advocacy group Moms for Liberty. Her husband is Christian Ziegler, who just won the race for state Chair of the Republican Party of Florida.
— Brian Aungst Jr., a Clearwater lawyer.
— Mike Sasso, a Seminole County lawyer.
— Martin Garcia, a lawyer from Tampa.
— Ron Peri, Chairman and CEO of The Gathering USA, an Orlando ministry.
The job of the five unpaid board members is to control Disney World’s government, which handles millions of dollars in contracts to build the roads, run the utilities and provide emergency services on the resort’s giant 25,000 acres.
DeSantis’ news conference became an opportunity for the Governor and others to bash Disney — from its movie contents to the theme parks’ response to the pandemic and opening after SeaWorld Orlando. DeSantis also accused Disney of not paying its fair share in taxes.
Representatives for Disney World did not immediately respond for comment Monday morning.
The bill also renames the Reedy Creek Improvement District to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.
Florida lawmakers went to war against Disney to punish the company for speaking out against the “Parental Rights in Education” legislation, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law by critics.
Republicans vowed to strip Disney World of its special taxing district. Disney can essentially control its own infrastructure without having to go to the local Central Florida municipalities for approval, like its competitors SeaWorld and Universal Orlando must do. The new bill doesn’t go so far as to dismantle Reedy Creek, but it does change the board’s selection and renames the district.
Democrats acknowledged the Reedy Creek setup gives an unfair advantage to Disney, but argued the bill swings too far in the opposite direction by giving the Governor complete control.
Some, like Rep. Anna Eskamani, also argued the bill didn’t punish Disney enough since it did not take away Disney’s long-held tax incentives.
Eskamani also unsuccessfully pushed for Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and other Central Florida elected leaders to be automatically added to the board to ensure a local voice in the process.
Back when the Walt Disney Company was looking to build a Magic Kingdom out east, Florida lawmakers offered Disney the ability to control its infrastructure by having its own government district if The Mouse come to the Sunshine State. That led to the creation of Reedy Creek from a 1967 law.
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