The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, the organization tiny-minded and -shoed Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis designated to oversee the real estate controlled by the Disney corporation, anticipates spending nearly $6 million over through 2024 to defend its authoritarian dicta on the company, targeted because it stood up for LGBTQ rights threatened by the pocket autocrat.
According to Politico, the CFTOD announced at a public meeting that it has already spent more than $1.9 million in 2023 to defend DeSantis’s oppressive orders designed to punish the state’s largest employer, and it’s booking another $4.5 million for legal fees in 2024. That compares to just $1.2 million spent by the board in 2022.
During the public meeting, community members repeatedly voiced dismay and anger at the situation caused by DeSantis’s need to enflame a culture war. One firefighter employed by the district lamented the DeSantis board’s decision to terminate the free amusement park ticket policy for employees, saying he could not afford to take his family to the parks he protects on the low salary the DeSantis board pays first responders.