Employees of the government district that oversees Florida Disney World are resigning en masse, saying the DeSantis-backed board’s management is “incompetent” and “unqualified.”
“It’s a toxic workplace right now,” Eulabel Vargas Maldonado, an accountant who worked in the finance department for nearly three years before quitting in September, told an outlet.
The oversight district was at the center of the dispute between Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis after the House of Mouse opposed the “don’t say gay” bill.
DeSantis replaced the board of the Reedy Creek Improvement District — a board that oversees the special tax district and infrastructure for the land on which Disney World is located — with his allies.
More than 30 employees, with more than 350 years of combined experience, have left their jobs in the special tax district in the nine months since the takeover, citing poor leadership. Looking for rental prices.
More than 30 employees have left their jobs at Disney’s special tax district in Florida over the past nine months due to poor leadership
In his battle with Disney, Governor Ron DeSantis seized the Reedy Creek Improvement District and replaced it with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board of Supervisors (photo)
Nearly half of the senior leadership team has left under the new administration, including the district administrator, chief financial officer, building official, fire chief and district secretary.
In an exit survey, an unnamed department director called the district’s new leadership “unqualified and incompetent.”
He added, “With the departure of more than three dozen employees, the district is no longer functional.”
A former manager said in their exit survey that DeSantis’ political appointees “show a serious lack of trust in employees” and made his job “uncomfortable,” “stressful” and “demoralizing.”
Former Disney boss Bob Chapek started the war with the Florida government when he criticized Ron DeSantis’ so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.
Since Bob Iger resumed his role as CEO, DeSantis targeted Disney’s special tax district and replaced its board with his allies.
Before the new board took control, Disney created a development contract for future investments. Those were thrown out by the new board, now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, and led to a federal lawsuit.
The DeSantis administration subsequently took Disney to court, where the contract claims will now be heard.
Before announcing his presidential bid, the Republican governor said it was “ironic” that he had a Disney wedding now that he is in an ongoing battle with the “woke” company.
The House of Mouse has since dropped much of its federal lawsuit against Florida’s governor.
They asked a federal judge for permission to file an amended complaint focusing solely on the First Amendment claim, which was approved.
The federal complaint now focuses on whether DeSantis targeted Disney for speaking out about the bill that limited gender discussion in some schools.
Before the new board took control, Disney created a development contract for future investments, which the new board threw out, prompting a federal lawsuit
Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed in September that the company will ‘quiet the noise’ around cultural issues as it has proven to be bad for business
Ron and Casey DeSantis discussed the ‘irony’ of getting married at Walt Disney World, as Florida’s governor is now in an ongoing battle with the ‘woke’ company
In a lawsuit Monday, the House of Mouse warned that if the governor wins the lawsuit, it will pave the way for others to be punished for their views.
“If the line is not drawn here, there is no line at all,” Disney said in the court documents.
“The retaliation against Disney for crossing the governor’s ‘line’ was swift and severe: With the expressly stated purpose of punishing Disney for its comments, the state immediately stripped Disney of its voting rights on the governing body that oversees the use of Disney’s is its own private property.’
DeSantis has urged Disney to drop the case because he has run for president.
In September, Disney announced it will invest $60 billion in its parks and cruise ships over the next decade, and Iger said the company will “quiet the noise” of culture war controversies.