ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Gov. Ron DeSantis has a brand new job for the person who has led Walt Disney World’s authorities since his allies took it over — elections supervisor in Orange County, lengthy one in all Florida’s most dependable sources of Democratic votes.
Glen Gilzean was appointed Monday by the Republican governor to supervise the voting in Florida’s fifth largest county, the place greater than 1.4 million residents dwell among the many largest theme park resorts within the U.S. Simply final Might, Gilzean was chosen to be administrator of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight Committee after DeSantis’ allies took over the Disney World governing district.
Gilzean beforehand served as a DeSantis appointee on the Florida Commission on Ethics and was president and CEO of Central Florida City League.
The county’s longtime elections supervisor Invoice Cowles retired in January, a couple of 12 months earlier than his time period was up. Cowles, a Democrat, was first elected in 1996 to the job, which oversees elections in Orlando and surrounding communities.
Neither Gilzean nor a spokesman for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District responded to electronic mail inquiries on Monday. Because the district’s administrator, Gilzean had an annual wage of $400,000. He’ll earn round half that as elections supervisor.
Gilzean’s new appointment comes at a time of turmoil for the district, which has seen an exodus of skilled staffers because the takeover and a number of litigation. The district offers municipal companies reminiscent of firefighting, planning and mosquito management, amongst different issues.
A struggle between DeSantis and Disney started in 2022 after the corporate, going through significant pressure internally and externally, publicly opposed a state legislation which critics have referred to as “Don’t Say Homosexual.” The 2022 legislation bans classroom classes on sexual orientation and gender identification in early grades and was championed by DeSantis, who used Disney as a punching bag in speeches till he suspended his presidential campaign this 12 months.
As punishment, DeSantis took over the district by means of laws handed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature and appointed a brand new board of supervisors, which named Gilzean as administrator.
Disney sued DeSantis and his appointees, claiming the corporate’s free speech rights have been violated for talking out in opposition to the laws. A federal choose dismissed that lawsuit in January. Disney has appealed.
A separate lawsuit over who controls the district remains to be pending in state courtroom in Orlando.
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Observe Mike Schneider on X, previously often called Twitter: @MikeSchneiderAP.
