Shakeup continues at Disney district a 12 months after takeover by DeSantis appointees

ORLANDO, Fla. — 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 every week after the district’s administrator, Glen Gilzean, left to simply 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 did not reply to an e-mail in search of touch upon Wednesday.

In an e-mail, DeSantis’ communications director, Bryan Griffin, thanked Garcia for “efficiently 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 brand new district centered on transparency and the elimination of company welfare,” Griffin mentioned.

The Republican governor additionally advisable {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’re glad to see her step into this management function because the District embarks upon the following chapter in its efforts to make sure a fair and clear taking part in discipline for the companies that function in Central Florida,” Griffin mentioned.

Because the takeover final 12 months, the district has confronted an exodus of skilled staffers and plenty of litigation. The district gives municipal companies akin 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, dealing with important inside and exterior stress, publicly opposed a state regulation that critics have referred to as “Don’t Say Homosexual.” The 2022 regulation 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 marketing campaign this 12 months.

As punishment for opposition to the regulation, DeSantis took over the district by 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 choose dismissed that lawsuit in January. Disney has appealed.

A separate lawsuit over who controls the district continues to be pending in state courtroom in Orlando.

A settlement settlement over the “Do not Say Homosexual” laws was reached this week between Florida training officers and civil rights teams that had challenged the constitutionality of the regulation on behalf of fogeys, college students and others. The regulation stays intact, however the deal spells out that the Florida regulation doesn’t prohibit discussing LGBTQ+ folks, forestall anti-bullying guidelines based mostly on sexual orientation and gender identification, or disallow Homosexual-Straight Alliance teams.

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Comply with Mike Schneider on X, previously often known as Twitter: @MikeSchneiderAP.