Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District has undergone some massive changes, and another has just been made.

Over the past several months, much of Disney’s control over the District has been stripped away, a new Board of Supervisors has started to take action, and lawsuits have been filed (both by Disney and against Disney) regarding the District. But there’s a new update.

As ClickOrlando reports, in late May, Michael Sasso — one of the members of the Board of Supervisors for Central Florida Tourism Oversight District that had previously been appointed by DeSantis — resigned from his position on the Board.

This resignation followed DeSantis’ appointment of Sasso’s wife, Meridith Sasso, to the Florida Supreme Court. At the time of the original reporting, ClickOrlando noted, “Sasso has not yet publicly said why he backed out of the role” but “[t]here has been no connection made between this [meaning his wife’s appointment to the Supreme Court] and Michael Sasso’s resignation from the CFTOD board.”

Since that resignation, it has been unclear who would replace Sasso, but now we have an update. According to a press release on the website of Governor Ron DeSantis, DeSantis has appointed Charbel Barakat to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

DeSantis’ press release states that Barakat is the “Regional General Counsel for D.R. Horton, Inc.,” current Commissioner for the “Second District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission,” and a person who serves on the “Florida Development Finance Corporation.”

Bararkat is also “Vice President of the Federalist Society for the Tampa Bay Chapter and Chairman of the Volume Builders Council for the Florida Home Builders Association.” He obtained his “bachelor’s degree in international studies from Johns Hopkins University and his juris doctor from New York University School of Law.”

According to ClickOrlando, Barakat already serves on those two state boards (Second District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission and Florida Development Finance Corporation) as a DeSantis appointee. Federal records have also shown that Barakat has “contributed thousands of dollars to Republican candidates and groups over the last few years, including to DeSantis in 2022.” Interestingly, Barakat was also a one-day champion on Jeopardy! in 2018.

Note that Barakat’s appoint is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate, so we’ll be waiting on updates there.

The next Reedy Creek Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled to take place on June 21st, so we could see Barakat participate in that meeting for the first time. We’ll be on the lookout for updates.

In the meantime, click here to learn about the important warning Disney has issued about its battles with DeSantis

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The post Governor DeSantis Announces Change for Disney’s Reedy Creek District first appeared on the disney food blog.