Good morning and welcome to Wednesday.
The governing board for the “corporate kingdom” — as Gov. Ron DeSantis likes to call it — is about to get a new boss. This morning, the five-member Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board — which oversees the land surrounding Walt Disney World — will consider whether to install DeSantis-recommended Stephanie Kopelousos into the job of administrator. Kopelousos used to be intergovernment and legislative affairs director for the governor. She has a long public service record on Capitol Hill, in Tallahassee and at the county level, and most recently worked for the DeSantis presidential campaign. She’s far from a knee-jerk Disney antagonist. In 2021, she wrote a carve-out in a bill for companies that own theme parks (i.e. Walt Disney World and the Disney+ streaming service) that otherwise aimed to crack down on Big Tech over allegations that they censored conservatives, per Seeking Rents. Back then, however, DeSantis and Disney were getting along. Now, there’s still an ongoing legal and public relations battle that started when Disney publicly opposed schools legislation it dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” In response, DeSantis and the Legislature took over their governing district — essentially taking away a special arrangement Disney had to self-govern. Kopelousos’ remarks at today’s meeting will be key to watch for signs about how she plans to engage with Disney. In a letter to the board, Kopelousos, who was transportation secretary under former Gov. Charlie Crist when he was a Republican, cited her interest in improving safety inspections of the Monorail. Some people in the governor’s orbit see Kopelousos’ appointment as somewhat of a peace offering. “It’s a signal of detente and move on and mutual collaboration,” said one person who has worked with Kopelousos, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The person called her a “fine person” who calls everybody “muffin,” as well as a “straight shooter” who was loyal to DeSantis and also “respected by the folks at Disney.” “Together the district and Disney have the same goal of continuing to make Disney the No. 1 tourist destination in America,” the person said. Another person who has worked with Kopelousos, who wasn’t authorized to discuss her appointment publicly, said the governor picking her was “logical” and “makes sense,” especially given her former role as Clay County manager. “I’m sure from Disney’s perspective they just want somebody who can talk nuts and bolts and is well-versed on municipal issues,” the person said. The district job became available after DeSantis tapped the current administrator, Glen Gilzean, to the job of Orange County elections supervisor. Gilzean jumped into that job right away given the March 19 primary, while also helping with a transition at the district. It’s still possible Gilzean, who isn’t expected to be at the meeting this morning, will be asked to stay on at Disney’s governing district for a bit to help with the transition in a consultant role. The administrator who preceded Gilzean, John Classe, stayed on for about three months to help. Also worth watching are any details about the terms of Kopelousos’ employment, including what gets decided about her salary or any other contract negotiations. Gilzean was getting paid $400,000 when he had the job. Finally, the board will kick off its work with its newest member just appointed by the governor last night: GOP megadonor Craig Mateer, founder of CCM Capital Group. When reached for comment, DeSantis spokesperson Bryan Griffin pointed to a weeks-old statement about how she would be stepping into the “next chapter.” Disney hasn’t commented publicly on the appointment. WHERE’S RON? Gov. DeSantis is scheduled to be at the executive clemency meeting today. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com.
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