The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board has agreed to appoint Glen Gilzean as the new District Administrator.
Gilzean is an ally of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and will be paid $400,000 per year in the role of administrator.
Speaking today, board Chair Martin Garcia talked about compensation for Gilzean and went to lengths to justify his pay. According to Garcia, the range for similar jobs in Florida is $271,000 to $453,000. Part of the reason for Gilzean being paid more than outgoing administrator Classe is that he will be facing an immediate lawsuit from Disney. Garcia said, "It is a reasonable compensation."
Today's appointment of Gilzean means that the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District's board and administrator are all hand-picked allies of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Existing District Administrator John Classe, appointed by Reedy Creek Improvement District, will remain as a special advisor and will aid in the transition to the new administrator.
Notably, Classe's proposed contract with the new district would prohibit him from working for Disney and requires him to assist the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District in its legal battle with Disney.
The action by DeSantis to strip Disney of its self-managing district came in retaliation to Disney's public opposition to the Parental Bill of Right law, which took place under ex-Disney CEO Bob Chapek. Speaking at the Reedy Creek firehouse on February 27 when signing the bill to end Reedy Creek, DeSantis said that Disney's opposition to the Parents Bill of Rights bill was a "mild annoyance," but that the state of Florida will no longer be "joined at the hip with one California-based company." After signing the bill DeSantis said, "the corporate kingdom finally came to an end."
In an update to their lawsuit against DeSantis filed this week, Disney said, "the State's oversight board has purported to 'void' publicly noticed and duly agreed development contracts, which had laid the foundation for billions of Disney's investment dollars and thousands of jobs. Days later, the State Legislature enacted and Governor DeSantis signed legislation rendering these contracts immediately void and unenforceable. These government actions were patently retaliatory, patently anti-business, and patently unconstitutional. But the Governor and his allies have made clear they do not care and will not stop. The Governor recently declared that his team would not only "void the development agreement"—just as the State has now done, twice—but also planned 'to look at things like taxes on the hotels,' 'tolls on the roads,' 'developing some of the property that the district owns' with 'more amusement parks,' and even putting a 'state prison' next to Walt Disney World."
Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox