RIGHT HAND MAN

DeSantis Pal Gets Whopping Salary for Disney District Oversight

Central Florida Urban League CEO Glen Gilzean will bring in $400,000 as district administrator.

In the latest update on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ quarrel with the Mouse, his handpicked Board of Supervisors for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District tapped ally Glen Gilzean as the new district administrator on Wednesday. The Central Florida Urban League CEO will take home a hefty salary at $400,000—nearly triple the governor’s salary—and replace John Classe, one of the last men standing from Walt Disney Co.’s prior control of the district. But the board doesn’t plan to get rid of Classe anytime soon. It will keep him as a special adviser as long as he helps out in its legal war against Disney. Classe’s new contract bars him from working at the multinational corporation for two years if he exits the district and grants him health care for life—unless the board gives him the boot for not complying. DeSantis seized control of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District and swapped it out for a state-appointed, five-member board after Disney criticized his “Don’t Say Gay” bill. DeSantis previously appointed Gilzean to the Florida Commission on Ethics in 2019, Florida Census Complete Count Committee in 2020, and the Re-Open Florida Task Force in 2021.