Looks like controlling the board because it screws Disney is not as easy as it would seem.
The issue isn't that DeSantis' board backed out of the deal, it's that the details of the cozy arrangement became public. That has put pressure on new District Administrator Glen Gilzean to back out of the deal, which some see as a reward for the union supporting DeSantis.
“This contract got into the hands of city and county leaders across the state of Florida,” Shirey wrote. “Glen had been receiving calls left and right yelling at him that he couldn’t sign this agreement, and how it was going to screw all of the taxpayers in those areas because they would have to raise taxes just to be able to recruit and stay even somewhat competitive with the new market.”
Had Disney still been in charge, the pay raises could have been passed off as a rich company overpaying for workers. It would have been an outlier that likely would not have given other firefighters and EMTs leverage.
With a DeSantis-controlled board, the governor is not only not giving agreed-upon raises to a major political ally, but he's also seen as blocking that precedent from helping other firefighters and EMTs -- groups that have been firmly in his camp -- from making more money.
Call it an unforced error by the governor, but the reality is that actually governing the former RDIC means making hard choices. The governor could have left those to Disney and made the company the bad guy with workers who don't get what they want, but by taking over, DeSantis has made himself the villain to some of his biggest supporters.
The issue isn't that DeSantis' board backed out of the deal, it's that the details of the cozy arrangement became public. That has put pressure on new District Administrator Glen Gilzean to back out of the deal, which some see as a reward for the union supporting DeSantis.
“This contract got into the hands of city and county leaders across the state of Florida,” Shirey wrote. “Glen had been receiving calls left and right yelling at him that he couldn’t sign this agreement, and how it was going to screw all of the taxpayers in those areas because they would have to raise taxes just to be able to recruit and stay even somewhat competitive with the new market.”
Had Disney still been in charge, the pay raises could have been passed off as a rich company overpaying for workers. It would have been an outlier that likely would not have given other firefighters and EMTs leverage.
With a DeSantis-controlled board, the governor is not only not giving agreed-upon raises to a major political ally, but he's also seen as blocking that precedent from helping other firefighters and EMTs -- groups that have been firmly in his camp -- from making more money.
Call it an unforced error by the governor, but the reality is that actually governing the former RDIC means making hard choices. The governor could have left those to Disney and made the company the bad guy with workers who don't get what they want, but by taking over, DeSantis has made himself the villain to some of his biggest supporters.
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