Four senior staffers axed from Disney World’s government district

Four employees – including the Communications Director and a human resources executive  – were dismissed this week before the holidays at Disney World’s government in the aftermath of the state’s takeover.

Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis took over the government board that provides the roads and handles other infrastructure needs for 25,000 acres of mostly Walt Disney World-owned property.  Previously, the board had been controlled by Disney.

The DeSantis-run board hired new district administrator Glen Gilzean in May.

Since then, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District – previously known as Reedy Creek – said it was undergoing a reorganization and dismissed: Communications Director Eryka Washington Perry, Chief Human Resources officer Jason Middleton, human resources administrative assistant Sherri DeSorcy and facilities maintenance specialist Rodney Moore.

Washington Perry is a former TV news reporter who previously been a public information officer for then- Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala until she was hired at the district in 2019 by former district administrator John Classe who is also gone, the Orlando Sentinel recently reported.

Florida Politics could not immediately reach Washington Perry, Moore, or Middleton for comment Tuesday. DeSorcy said she had not been given any reason for her termination.

The employees’ departures comes amid a report by Seeking Rents that more than 30 district employees quit after DeSantis took it over. On their way out, some employees complained of low morale and a toxic environment with bad leadership.

Gilzean argued at last week’s board meeting morale has improved as he touted his open door policy and employees getting an extra day off for Thanksgiving and Veteran’s Day becoming an official district holiday.

The state’s fight with Disney World made national headlines  which was the first introduction to some people that Disney World even had its own government in the first place. Thanks to a state law in 1967, lawmakers established the district  to entice the man Walt Disney to build his Magic Kingdom in Orlando.

For decades, the district built roads, handled its own coding, ran a fire department and performed other duties a county government normally would, giving Disney World its own freedom to operate without having to deal with outside municipal governments.

The relationship between the state of Florida and Disney soured in recent months and led to a pair of lawsuits after the theme park operator criticized Florida’s Parental Rights in Education legislation, known by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. 

Disney then accused DeSantis and Republicans of targeting the company for speaking out and exercising its constitutional right to freedom of speech. Republicans passed a law this year giving DeSantis the power to appoint new members onto the Reedy Creek Board of Supervisors and allowing state inspectors onto the monorail.

Meanwhile, Republicans argued the Mouse needed more state more oversight and an independent board. The DeSantis-appointed members also have accused Disney of trying to strip away its power by making deals with the outgoing board members weeks before the state took it over.

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