New Report Calls Reedy Creek “The Most Egregious Exhibition of Corporate Cronyism in Modern American History”
The new scathing report unveiled by the Ron DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) lambasts the former Reedy Creek Improvement District as “the most egregious exhibition of corporate cronyism in modern American history.”
The CFTOD spent $360,000 on the report, which the district has said will pay for itself in the end.
Photo: CFTOD
$110,000 of the $360,000 spent on the report went to Donald J. Kochan, a law professor at George Mason University.
The Findings Were Not Anything New
Kochan’s study reached many of the same conclusions that Professor Richard Foglesong of Rollins College posited in his 2001 book Married to the Mouse.
Photo: Yale University Press
Foglesong’s book concluded that Disney had managed to shield itself from government regulation based on an unmet promise to build a city of the future in the 1960s.
While Walt Disney’s dream of EPCOT never materialized as a city, Disney has essentially been given governing power over its land ever since.
Professor Donald J. Kochan. Photo: Chapman University
In an email to the Orlando Sentinel, Foglesong stated that the CFTOD report failed to break any new ground.
“So the new board pays someone from out of town $100,000 to write a book report on my book, ‘Married to the Mouse,’” Foglesong said in an email. “All facts came from my book; the rest was superfluous.”
Kochan Defends His Work
Kochan, meanwhile, defended his report, arguing that he used a variety of sources while building on Foglesong’s work.
“Dr. Foglesong’s political science work was extremely useful in my own research, as were scholarly works of others; and where his own research was integrated parts of my report, it was very helpful to apply independent insights from … the law and economics literature to his analysis,” he said.
In addition to Kochan, the district hired other experts to help compile the report.
William Jennings, a senior director at Delta Consulting Group, conducted a forensic audit. The engineering firm Kimley-Horn provided an urban planning report and the Public Resources Advisory Group served as the district’s financial adviser.
“Illuminating and Not Infrequently Shocking”
The finished report totaled 80 pages, along with hundreds of additional pages of supplemental information and exhibits.
In a prepared statement, district spokesman Matthew Oberly said the report’s cost was reasonable and justified.
Reedy Creek
“Engaging with finance and governance experts led to the district implementing best governance practices that resulted in significant savings,” he said.
Board chairman Martin Garcia, meanwhile, called the findings “illuminating and not infrequently shocking.”
Disney’s Response
For their part, Disney has dismissed the report as “revisionist history” that is “neither objective nor credible.”
Credit: Disney
Frequent CFTOD critic state Sen. Linda Stewart (D-Orlando) agreed.
“This is just a one-sided, unfair report,” said Stewart. “To me, it was undeniable this report … was designed to make the governor look good.”
The report will now be provided to both Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature as required by the law that created the CFTOD.
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