Ethics lawyer says DeSantis' Disney chief has major potential conflict of interest
Glen Gilzean cannot serve as both chair of the Florida Commission on Ethics and administrator of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District housing Disney World
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A top Florida ethics lawyer says that Glen Gilzean, chair of the Florida Commission on Ethics, is holding his position contrary to state law.
In a legal opinion released Thursday, Florida Ethics Commission general counsel Steven Zuilkowski wrote that Glizean cannot continue to lead the commission and simultaneously serve as administrator of Gov. Ron DeSantis' new district housing Disney World.
Florida state law stipulates that "no member" of the ethics commission "may hold any public employment," Zuilkowski explained in a memo to Gilzean.
Gilzean was hired to lead the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District as the district's administrator in May with a $400,000 annual salary.
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Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board administrator Glen Gilzean, left, and board member Ron Peri confer during the board's meeting in the headquarters of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"[I]t appears that your position as District Administrator for the District is public employment," Zuilkowski concluded after analyzing the details of Gilzean's employment agreement.
DeSantis first appointed Gilzean to the ethics commission on August 23, 2019, to villa a vacancy. He was subsequently reappointed twice in 2020 and 2022, and confirmed by the Florida Senate. At a January 27, 2023, meeting, the commission members unanimously elected Gilzean to become Chair for a term that began on February 1, 2023.
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Walt Disney World is housed within the Central Florida Tourism Overisght District established by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to end the theme park's self-governing status. (Getty Images for Disney Dreamers Academy / Fox News)
On May 10, 2023, the Board of Supervisors for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) hired Gilzean to also serve as district administrator.
The oversight district was created by the Florida legislature at DeSantis' urging, as a replacement for Disney’s former Reedy Creek Improvement District (RDID), which had allowed the theme park giant to self-govern since the 1960s before Disney World first opened. Each board member is appointed by the governor.
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Gilzean is an ally of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed him to serve on Florida's ethics commission. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Florida Commission on Ethics and CFTOD did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A DeSantis spokesman also did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
The potential conflict of interest was first reported by the Florida Bulldog, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to watchdog journalism. Gilzean sought the legal opinion from Zuilkowski following the Bulldog's report on Monday.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 117.47 | -0.13 | -0.11% |
The ethics commission is made up of nine members who each serve two-year terms. Five are appointed by the governor, with no more than three from the same political party. Two are appointed by the president of the state Senate, and two members by the speaker of the state House of Representatives.
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The commission is charged with investigating complaints of "breach of the public trust by public officers and employees." It describes itself as the "guardian of standards of conduct for officers and employees of Florida."
By Florida law, ethics commissioners may be fired "for cause" by a majority vote of the governor, president of the Florida Senate, speaker of the Florida House and chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, the Orlando Sentinel reported.