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Credit: DisneyAfter its feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which cost them the Reedy Creek Improvement District, it appeared that The Walt Disney Company was done with politics—or at least Florida politics was done with them.
Related: After Decades of Neglect, Disney World Cast Members Are Finally Getting Their Due
However, it’s an election year, and that means candidates are trolling for cash. And what better place to go looking for campaign funds than one of the wealthiest companies in the state?
Yet, there is something strange going on in Central Florida. Politicians are running away from Disney and Universal and their political donations as voters start to see the corruption in government that comes with these significant industries.
Last month, three candidates, the Orange County Commission backed by the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association, of which Universal Orlando Resort and Walt Disney World are significant contributors, all lost.
So what went wrong? Why are voters turning on Central Florida’s two largest taxpayers, and is this a sign of things to come for Florida politics?
The Orange County Commission
A Central Florida commission should not be that important in the area’s grand scheme of the billion-dollar tourism industry. But there is much more to it than that.
The Orange County Commission oversees the Tourist Development Tax, a six percent fee hotel guests pay when they leave Orange County.
Last year, the Tourist Development Tax generated $360 million for Central Florida. But where does that money go, and who makes those decisions?
This is where the Orange County Commission comes in. Those lawmakers decide how to use that money.
For decades, the Orange County Commission was stacked with Disney supporters who used that money however Disney or Universal wanted them to. It mostly went to projects that would expand tourism in the area and bring more guests to the theme parks.
Journalist Jason Garcia looked into exactly where this money was going, and it is not surprising that the voters of Orange County have seen very little while the special interests in the area have seen the majority.
Garcia wrote:
Orange County has raised a little more than $5 billion in the roughly 45 years since it began charging a hotel tax. Somewhere around 90 percent of that money — 90 cents of every dollar — has gone to three causes: A massive, money-losing convention center built to drive business to hotels and theme parks; tourism advertising; and arenas for the Orlando Magic, the professional basketball team owned by the billionaire DeVos family.
Three of the six candidates running for the Orange County Commission have vowed to abolish this system and be more transparent about how Tourism taxes are spent. So, what exactly do the voters of Central Florida want with the money?
Florida Voters Speak
So, what do Florida voters want? They would rather see that money used to expand public transportation, help pay for the police that patrol Walt Disney Parks, and create more affordable housing.
However, that might not be as easy as it sounds. Disney supporters in the Florida State Legislature have created laws that make it difficult to use the tourism tax on anything other than tourism improvements. Governor DeSantis does not seem inclined to change that.
Despite all that, Central Florida voters have three candidates actively trying to use that money to benefit the area’s residents. But, like everything else, even that isn’t very easy.
According to Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel, the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association gave all six candidates running for the Orange County Commission a questionnaire on their plans if elected.
The three candidates who want to reform the system shared their questionnaires with the Orlando Sentinel, showing their transparency and willingness to use those funds for taxpayers.
However, the other three candidates did not share their answers with the Sentinel. One candidate, Linda Stewart, a longtime ally of the tourism industry in the state, said that she was in favor of using tourism tax dollars for residents as long as the tourism industry was in favor of it.
Based on their questionnaire answers, Disney and Universal funneled massive political donations to their campaigns, making it clear who the major tourism bosses wanted to see in office.
So, with the odds stacked against them, is it possible for Central Florida to ultimately change the law and use the tourism tax for the needs of its citizens?
Follow the Lead
The odds and billions of dollars are stacked against taxpayers in Central Florida, but there is precedent to help them. Las Vegas also charges a tourism tax.
So, what does Vegas do with the money it collects from its tourists? The city uses the money to improve infrastructure and provide affordable housing for the people who work in the casinos.
Ironically enough, the casinos backed this change. The casino bosses realized that the city could not thrive without the people who made this possible and without being able to attract massive numbers of guests. So, the money went to the projects that needed it the most.
There is also precedent in Florida to get this done. Just this year, Key West, Florida, won the right to use the $35 million it made on its tourism tax on affordable housing for its residents. The Florida panhandle also uses its tourism tax for police and public safety.
However, unlike Orlando, Key West and the Florida panhandle don’t have Disney, Universal, and the Orlando Magic lobbying for the money to be used on them.
Nearly $100 million of the tourism tax goes to Visit Orlando annually. Visit Orlando is used to advertise Disney, SeaWorld, and Universal, which could easily spend that money themselves to attract tourists to the area.
So, this year, there’s a lot at stake for the elections in Central Florida. There’s the president, a senator, a congressional representative, an abortion amendment, a recreational marijuana amendment, and now this. If you want a say, get out and vote.
What should Central Florida do with its millions in tourism tax dollars?