Central Florida Tourism Oversight District's chief has a conflict of interest issue brewing with his position on DeSantis' ethics commission

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Glen Gilzean speaking on May 10 at his appointment as District Administrator

Posted: Thursday August 17, 2023 12:46pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Recently appointed administrator of Ron DeSantis' Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Glen Gilzean is facing a conflict of interest issue involving his $400,000 job at the CFTOD and his role on Governor Ron DeSantis' Florida ethics commission.

Glen Gilzean speaking on May 10 at his appointment as District Administrator

Steven Zuilkowski, the ethics commission's general counsel released a legal opinion today stating that Glen Gilzean cannot continue to serve as Florida's ethics commission chairman and continue as the administrator of CFTOD.

According to today's findings, Florida State law does not allow public employees to serve on the government ethic commission, meaning Gilzean must resign from one of his roles.

Gilzean is an ally of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who appointed him to the Florida Commission on Ethics. He was also part of DeSantis' working group for reopening Florida during the COVID pandemic.

In its short life, DeSantis' CFTOD has already run into a number of personnel issues. Board member Michael Sasso resigned from his board position after less than four months on the job.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board will next meet on August 23, 2023.

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castlecake2.02 days ago

Yes

Stripes2 days ago

Has Disney/CFTOD continued to replace the purple direction signage with the new blue color scheme since CFTOD took over?

mkt2 days ago

You're right. The new document will be different. It will be "different" in the way that Chris Gaines was "different" from Garth Brooks or how the drummer from Nirvana is "different" from the singer of the Foo Fighters.

Unbanshee2 days ago

Both are effectively picked by the Governor, just not technically. Look no further than the communications "strategy" with the replacement of Gilzean of the Governor's office getting out ahead of every single step of the process

lazyboy97o3 days ago

The settlement acknowledged the “need” to change the comprehensive plan, which undermines this idea. So too does the lack of an agreement, as the 2032 Comprehensive Plan wasn’t that different than the again in force 2020 Comprehensive Plan.

Brian3 days ago

That's understandable for sure. I just felt inclined to make the distinction due to the ongoing conversation, as the district administrator is selected by the board, while the board is selected by the governor.

mkt3 days ago

The new agreement will be functionally the same as the one Disney was sued over.

pdude813 days ago

You're right. This has been going on so long I just lumped all the antagonists together.

Brian3 days ago

Not to nitpick, but Gilzean was district administrator, not a board member.

pdude813 days ago

A bigger risk than keeping Garcia and Gilzean on the board as active disruptors? I don't agree with their decision to stall the federal lawsuit, but I understand why they saw the status quo as a risk to growth over the next few years.

lazyboy97o3 days ago

You don’t think dropping your bargaining power in the middle is the best strategy in a negotiation?

flynnibus3 days ago

Again… we know nothing except both sides have shown signs of positive attitude and certainty of successful outcomes. What does that mean? None if us know. All we can speculate is… they know a lot more than they have said publicly… and obvious things like "desantis is not perpetual…" were clearly obvious to them when they made these choices.

UNCgolf3 days ago

That seems wildly optimistic.

flynnibus3 days ago

“Right now…” Yes, we all know this. But again, we don’t know what back room deal they have setup. Who knows… it could even include new legislation promises… Or Disney is just rolling with the hand they are dealt… maybe they have accepted that the time to sunset their advantages of rcid is here… none of us can tell what their true intentions are right now.