During a campaign kickoff event in Iowa, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continued his culture war against Disney, saying that he will not back down in the fight against the engine of Florida’s tourism economy.
…there was a little business that you may of heard of in Florida that also wasn’t happy about [the Don’t Say Gay law] named Disney. And people told me, they said ‘listen, the media is coming after you, the left, but if Disney weighs in, they’re the 800-pound gorilla, you better watch out. They’re gonna steamroll you. Well, here I stand. I’m not backing down one inch. We run the state of Florida – they do not run the state of Florida.
Once again, Ron DeSantis admitted that his fight with Disney began with Disney’s First Amendment right to protected speech. When DeSantis didn’t like that opinion from Disney, he and Florida Legislatures started to look into punishment for the Company.
Originally, lawmakers set out to dismantle the Reedy Creek Improvement District. When they realized that the bill they passed to dismantle the District would actually saddle area residents with $1 billion in taxes, they decided to keep the District as is but install a hand-picked Board of Supervisors by DeSantis.
Now, the Board has been installed and DeSantis has signed a bill to allow the renamed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to cancel a contract with Disney that would’ve protected Disney’s development rights for the next 30 years. Disney has filed a federal lawsuit to undo the retaliation from DeSantis and lawmakers, while the CFTOD has filed a lawsuit in state court to have a judge rule that a unilateral voiding of a contract between the government and a private business is legal.
With DeSantis now out on the campaign trail, some industry watchers were speculating that the Governor might move past his culture war with Disney. Now, it seems like DeSantis is making his retaliation against the Company part of his stump speech.
In court, DeSantis’ lawyers have asked Chief Judge Mark E. Walker to step down from the case, and Disney has said that the motion reeks of “judge shopping”. In the state case, Disney has asked the court to dismiss the case because it is now moot with actions from lawmakers and DeSantis to void the Development Agreement via law, and that any rulings would be superseded by the federal case which largely covers the same issues as the state case.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
And where is Disney’s stock price right now? Hmmm But Disney is totally winning you guys. For realz