Ever since Florida Governor Ron DeSantis first attempted to take control of Disney World’s Reedy Creek Improvement District, there have been two very opposing sides.
Disney vs. DeSantis
DeSantis was eventually able to replace the Reedy Creek Improvement District with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, giving the area a new governing board. Since then, the board’s decisions have been controversial and not everyone has been pleased by the proceedings. Currently, some lawmakers are seeking to repeal DeSantis’s takeover…but there may be some obstacles in the way.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that three Republican state lawmakers walked out of Orange County’s legislative delegation meeting on Wednesday, November 28th. Senators Jason Brodeur and Dennis Baxley, along with Rep. Doug Bankson, left the meeting just before a vote on restoring Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District.
Reedy Creek
Because of their departure, the delegation lost its quorum. The lawmakers didn’t mention Disney’s bill before leaving, but did say they were upset with the delegation’s rules for picking leaders. The remaining Democrats voted 7-0 to advance the bill but later discovered they didn’t have enough members present, and the vote was rendered invalid.
Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani chairs the delegation. “It’s disrespectful to the staff who spent hours preparing for this meeting and to the more than 100 members of the public who signed up to speak,” she said of the walkout. “I can only assume this was less about delegation rules and more about Republican lawmakers not wanting to take a vote on restoring Reedy Creek.”
Reedy Creek Improvement District
Brodeur noted that he was upset about a rule that requires the delegation’s leadership to have at least 50% of their district in Orange County. The rule makes elected officials without a majority of their district in Orange County ineligible to lead the delegation. “I don’t want to participate in a kangaroo court for whom the outcomes are already pre-determined,” he said. “This is silly. … It absolutely discriminates and limits minority access to leadership roles.”
After the meeting, Baxley was reached by phone and said his departure had nothing to do with the Disney vote. “This whole idea that some people are not to be included is disturbing when you are duly elected,” Baxley said. “We are equal, but some are more equal than others. I don’t like that.”
Cinderella Castle
Senator Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, said the walkout won’t stop her from introducing a bill to undo the Reedy Creek takeover. She said the delegation plans to consider it again next week. “They haven’t discouraged me or derailed me yet,” Stewart said. “They can’t stop me.”
However, even if such a bill is introduced, it faces difficult odds in Tallahassee. The GOP-dominated Legislature voted heavily in favor of overhauling the district previously. And if it passes the legislature, it could still be vetoed by Governor DeSantis.
©Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board Livestream
We’ll keep an eye on this situation and let you know if there are any updates. Stay tuned to DFB.
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Come on people this is the way the government will be run if Dessntis is president his way or the highway no vote just what he says 😳 Look at the way he treated Disney just cause they had the right to disagree with him please look at who he is not the act he puts in front of camera
Jeanne is 100% correct! But DeSatan will lose at this eventually, just the way he is going to be trounced in the Republican Presidential primary. Then we Floridians will have to thwart his every attempt to further degrade citizens’ lives and rights.
But in the end, Mickey and the Citizens of Florida will prevail. And DeSatan and Lady DeSatan will be gone in 2025.
And we will still be here!!
It’s unfortunate what the Republican party has become compared to what it was decades ago. The party consistently behaves like a bunch of children. Can we not all be more professional rather than acting like a bunch of junior high children retaliating? I guess they learned from the governor.
I have a feeling this was a well rehearsed political move on the part of DeSantis and his cronies. It’s unconscionable that this type of behavior is tolerated and allowed to continue.
Why in the world does the Republican administration continue to show distain and disrespect to its largest employer. Not to mention the taxes the State of Florida receives from the Disney company. Floridians deserve so much better.,