According to a printed report, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ hand-picked council to oversee Disney’s tax district has “armed” a recent special judge who could impose $500 fines – and even shut down rides – for code violations at theme parks.
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District appointed longtime DeSantis ally Glen Gilzean to the newly created role of administrator to oversee the defunct Reedy Creek Tax District, Orlando Sentinel he announced on Wednesday.
The board also voted unanimously to adopt a code enforcement program and hire recent law enforcement officers to report to Gilzean.
According to the publication, any attractions that violate yet-to-be-determined codes can be fined up to $500 per day.
Gilzean can even reportedly have “pretty awesome powers” to shut down rides in violation of an unspecified code at Orlando’s Disney World parks, including Magic Kingdom and Epcot, the outlet said.
The strong-arm move comes amid an escalating legal battle between DeSantis and Disney — and as Mouse House boss Bob Iger challenges a Republican governor for playing politics in a special district.
The 2 sides filed lawsuits and countersuits against one another after DeSantis stripped Disney of its special district status earlier this 12 months – following the corporate’s opposition to the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.
“It’s nearly one thing: their retaliation against us,” Iger said in a call with investors after Disney reported second-quarter earnings consistent with Wall Street estimates on Wednesday.
“Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, pay more taxes or not?”
Walt Disney World historian Rick Foglesong said Disney has little to fear within the newly created position.
“You may think [Disney] would see a threat here,” Foglesong, writer of “Married to the Mouse,” told The Guardian.
Gilzean, former president and CEO of the Central Florida Urban League, will receive a starting salary of $400,000 and can be the state’s lead in a lawsuit filed by Disney against the brand new district.
DeSantis had previously appointed Gilzean as chairman of the Florida Commission on Ethics and served on the Re-Open Florida task force.
“Our recent administrator could also be planning to be prosecuted in a lawsuit,” board chairman Martin Garcia told Sentinel.
“It is often difficult to recruit someone to a job and tell them on day one which there can be a processing server on the sidewalk that is probably going to serve you in a federal lawsuit.”
The Post contacted Gilzean for comment.
Disney expanded its legal offensive against DeSantis Monday after the Republican governor signed a bill overturning the House of Mouse’s latest attempt to dismantle a board of directors full of its appointed officials.
The amended lawsuit also addressed state efforts to gain more control of the park’s 27,000-acre monorail system – but that is just the newest dispute between Disney and DeSantis.
The most recent showdown between Disney and DeSantis began when Disney filed a preliminary lawsuit against DeSantis in Tallahassee federal court in April.
Within the lawsuit, Disney said it opposed a bill banning school teaching on gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through fourth grade.
DeSantis previously claimed the fabric was unsuitable for young children.
The governor fired members of the board of directors of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District – which oversees Disney’s special tax district – in an effort to undermine Disney’s quasi-governmental power as Florida’s largest employer. The laid-off employees were replaced by DeSantis’ political allies.
Nonetheless, the outgoing board members didn’t relent and tried to quietly regain power by passing a restrictive development agreement just before the change of householders.
When DeSantis realized that his recent board of directors was powerless, he broke down and rescinded the motion.
Disney then filed a federal lawsuit, arguing that the governor attacked the corporate in a “clear case of retaliation” that began with what critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
“There is no such thing as a room for disagreement about what happened here: Disney voiced his opinion on state laws after which was punished by the state for it,” Disney’s lawsuit alleges.
The corporate also claims that DeSantis mistakenly picked it to polish his culture war credentials ahead of his alleged run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.