DeSantis Escalates War With Disney, Appoints Ally as ‘Special Magistrate’ Who Can Shut Down Rides, Issue Fines

In Governor DeSantis’s crusade against Disney for its opposition to his so-called Don’t Say Gay law, he has “weaponized” a special magistrate to levee fines and shut down rides for potential code violations.The Orlando Sentinel reported on Wednesday that the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which replaced the Disney-friendly Reedy Creek tax district, would be welcoming a new district administrator, Glen Gilzean.Mr. Gilzean, who will be paid $400,000 yearly, will be responsible for hiring officers to enforce a code for rides that has not been written yet. Violations of the forthcoming code will be punished with $500 in fines a day.The new code and enforcement officer represents the latest escalation in Florida’s battle against the American cultural hegemon and largest employer in the state, Disney.According to the chairman of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, Martin Garcia, Mr. Gilzean should expect to immediately be brought into the ongoing legal battles between Disney and Florida.“Our new administrator can plan on being a defendant in a lawsuit,” Mr. Garcia told the Sentinel. “And it’s always challenging to recruit someone to a job and saying the first day, there’s going to be a process server coming down the sidewalk that’s probably going to serve you with a federal lawsuit.”The latest in these legal battles came Monday, when Disney sued the governor for signing legislation voiding a legal agreement aimed at dismantling the oversight board packed with allies of Mr. DeSantis. Disney’s suit also targeted the state’s efforts to take control of the park’s monorail system.Disney has also filed a federal lawsuit against the governor claiming Mr. DeSantis is engaging in “a clear case of retaliation” against Disney for expressing an opinion opposing Mr. DeSantis’s ban on the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms through 12th grade.“There is no room for disagreement about what happened here: Disney expressed its opinion on state legislation and was then punished by the State for doing so,” Disney claims in its suit.The chief executive of Disney, Robert Iger, reiterated this point on an earnings call this past week, when he told investors, “This is about one thing and one thing only: Them retaliating against us.”While Mr. DeSantis wages his legal war against the company, Mr. Iger has boiled the issue down to dollars and cents, threatening to pull investment out of Florida to the tune of $17 billion and 13,000 jobs over the next decade..“Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes or not?” Mr. Iger said on a call with investors.

DeSantis Escalates War With Disney, Appoints Ally as ‘Special Magistrate’ Who Can Shut Down Rides, Issue Fines

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