Meatball vs the Mouse

Created
Fri, 03/03/2023 - 10:30
Updated
Fri, 03/03/2023 - 10:30
“Sheriff” DeSantis has wingnuts doing Disney oversight: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis solidified who will oversee Walt Disney World (DIS) after the politician signed a bill into law that allows him to take control of the company’s long-standing special tax district. “The corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” DeSantis said at a press conference following the bill’s signing on Monday. “There’s a new sheriff in town, and accountability will be the order of the day.” DeSantis, who rebranded the district previously known as Reedy Creek to the “Central Florida Tourism Oversight District,” hand-selected the five board members who will now oversee Disney’s municipal services. Previous board members were selected by Reedy Creek, which was fully controlled by Disney. “The good question now is what will be the impact of the new board that he appointed,” Richard Foglesong, Disney historian and author of the book “Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando,” told Yahoo Finance Live in an interview on Tuesday. “We have a five-member board of supervisors that consists principally of cultural warrior types, Christian nationalist types. …I think there is an issue here,” he warned. DeSantis’ board includes Bridget Ziegler, a conservative member of the Sarasota County School Board and co-founder of Moms for Liberty; Martin Garcia, an attorney who runs investment firm Pinehill Capital Partners, which donated $50,000 to a DeSantis-aligned political committee; and Ron Perri, chairman and CEO of The Gathering USA, a ministry “of evangelism, discipleship and mission opportunities for men.” “The Disney company is the major manufacturer of culture in the United States,” Foglesong said.…