Credit: Inside The MagicDisney’s governing district, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), just approved recent claims that Walt Disney World was involved with bribery towards the former Reedy Creek Improvement District and more.
What’s Going On With Disney’s Governing District?
On October 4 of this year, Christian Ziegler, Florida’s GOP chairman and husband of Sarasota County School Board member and Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, went under criminal investigation. After disseminating a substantially censored law enforcement document to the public, the initial disclosure on this issue came from the Florida Center for Government Accountability.
On Wednesday, Ziegler’s wife, who’s a member of a government board overseeing land where Disney sits, was a no-show at the DeSantis CFTOD board meeting. The CFTOD board meeting was to discuss and approve or deny allegations from a lengthy report on Disney’s former bribery with the once-Reedy Creek Improvement District.
A 90-page report from a board appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis accused Disney of influence-peddling. The report called Disney’s tax breaks and schemes “akin to bribes.” It also accused Disney of controlling the Reedy Creek Improvement District with “bribes”. The report included the words “corruption,” “bribery,” and “deception.” It also said that the information was “neither objective nor credible”.
Disney refrained from addressing individual accusations but restated a declaration from the previous day, characterizing the report as “an endeavor in rewriting history” and emphasizing that it “does not alter the reality that the governor selected the CFTOD board to penalize Disney for exercising its Constitutional entitlement to freedom of speech.” The Orlando Sentinel released an article stating that Disney’s Reedy Creek was blasted and called “corporate cronyism” in the initial report.
But the board voted unanimously to accept the bribery allegations as the report, which was read thoroughly by experts, including an overwhelming amount of proof of Disney’s inclusion in “bribery.” In a statement from Yahoo!News, the CFTOD approved the document after three hours of slamming the House of Mouse led by Disney CEO Bob Iger.
The recently constituted board is actively attempting to undermine the influence of Disney within the Reedy Creek jurisdiction, a significant contributor to the state’s tax revenue and employment landscape. Complaints encompass a scarcity of housing and transportation options in the area, the exclusive allocation of projects to a limited pool of vendors and contractors alleged non-payment of impact fees meant to offset expansion effects, and assertions that Disney provided complimentary passes and discounts to Reedy Creek officials, even covering their property taxes.
Disney has not responded further regarding the approval of the 90-page document, but in 4 days, at the time of this article’s release, a dismissal hearing will be held by a United States District Judge will hear the CFTOD and Ron DeSantis’ evidence for a dismissal of the lawsuits filed against them by Walt Disney World.
Inside The Magic will follow this story closely as more information and details emerge.