City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is seen during the DJ Khaled We The Best Press Conference on February 9, 2023, in Miami Beach, Florida. Suarez slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in his public feud with Disney. ALEXANDER TAMARGO/BENZINGA
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Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for carrying out a “personal vendetta” against The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS).
The Miami mayor, who’s also a Republican, did not personally vote DeSantis in 2018 as he voted for his opponent, Andrew Gillum. He did vote for the Florida governor in 2022.
His father is the former mayor of Miami, Xavier Suarez who is Cuban born and was previously the member of the Miami-Dade Commission Board from the 7th District. Suarez’s cousin, Alex Mooney, serves as a Congressman from West Virginia in the 2nd district.
As Republican mayor, Suarez claims that he has not spoken to DeSantis in years, but has spoken to other mayors in the state of Florida.
Suarez pointed out that DeSantis wrangling with Disney had cost the Sunshine State jobs and investments, reported The Hill, citing NewsNation’s Blake Burman.
“Look, he took an issue that was a winning issue that we all agreed on, which was parental rights for K through third-graders,” said Suarez pointing to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay Law.”
“It looks like now it’s something that spite or maybe potentially a personal vendetta, which has cost the state now potentially 2,000 jobs in a billion-dollar investment.”
The mayor drew a parallel between DeSantis, who is seen as a prospective candidate for the 2024 presidential elections, and the incumbent Joe Biden.
“I mean, that’s the kind of stuff that Joe Biden does, you know, he canceled the Keystone pipeline and other pipelines out of spite that cost Americans 42,000 jobs.”
It is pertinent to note that Suarez made his comments after Disney withdrew its decision to invest $864 million in a new Florida corporate campus, which was expected to accommodate 2,000 employees.
An internal email gave employees who have already relocated to Florida the option to return to Southern California, according to a prior report.
This month, Disney CEO Bob Iger slammed DeSantis for carrying out retaliation against the Mouse House. He pointed out that Disney employs more than 75,000 people and attracts millions of visitors to the state.
He pointed out that “no concerted effort” was made to dismantle Disney’s special district in the state until the entertainment giant spoke out about a particular legislation.
He was referring to the Don’t Say Gay law, which prohibits teaching classes regarding gender equality or sexual orientation to students in kindergarten through third grade.
At the time, Iger questioned — “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes, or not?”
The ongoing litigation between Disney and DeSantis continues as the governor had striped the company their self-governing status over the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Disney used the King Charles III clause to thwart DeSantis in the ongoing battle.
This “Declaration shall continue in effect until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, King of England, living as of the date of this declaration,” the document said.
DeSantis replaced all the Disney-allied board with five Republicans, but the clause was picked up other journalist in a press conference.
Produced in association with Benzinga
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