More Florida Republicans who dished out big bucks to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ re-election bid have been appointed to powerful public jobs—this time on the revamped board of a special tax district that oversees the Walt Disney Company.
DeSantis announced Monday that Martin Garcia, a Tampa lawyer, was appointed to the board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District—previously named the Reedy Creek Improvement District—just a year after his private investment firm, Pinehill Capital, cut a check to DeSantis’ campaign for $50,000.
“Today, the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” DeSantis said Monday in Central Florida. “There’s a new sheriff in town, and accountability will be the order of the day.” “I think that all of these board members very much would like to see the type of entertainment that all families can appreciate,” DeSantis said.
The stance immediately flung Disney into the heart of the national culture war, with Florida’s attention-hungry governor looking to cash in at its expense. DeSantis declared he’d disband the Reedy Creek Improvement District and axe the savings—namely through tax breaks—it had granted Disney since 1967.
“We believe being joined at the hip with this one California-based company was not something that was justifiable or sustainable,” DeSantis said.
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