DeSantis Board Member Abruptly Resigns Days After Wife Was Named to the Florida Supreme Court

The Central Tourism Oversight District has had some problems since its formation a few months ago. When the Board that oversaw the district was first seated, they realized that the Walt Disney Company had struck several deals with the Reedy Creek Improvement District that essentially stripped it of all its power.

Michael Sasso has resigned from the Reedy Creek board, @MyNews13 confirms.

Earlier this week, Sasso's wife, Michelle Sasso, was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court by Gov. Ron DeSantis https://t.co/GjiNdMT9FX

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) May 27, 2023

After that embarrassing moment, the Central Tourism Oversight District Board, with the help of the Florida Legislature and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, struck back by making any deals Reedy Creek had with Disney null and void. This led to another set of issues: Disney sued the Board and Governor DeSantis. And to top things off, the Board sued Disney.

So, now with everything landing in court, the two sides can’t agree on anything, even which judge presides over the case. This is going to be a long, messy slog.

But now, the Central Tourism Oversight District has lost one of its members. Central Florida attorney Michael Sasso has resigned from the Board. He resigned just days after Governor DeSantis appointed his wife, Meredith Sasso, to the Florida Supreme Court. She was the chief judge of the Sixth District Circuit Court of Appeals.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Sasso also serves on the Sixth District Circuit Court of Appeals nominating committee, the Valencia College District Board of Trustees, and the Public Employees Relations Commission.

It has been quite a couple of weeks for Florida Gov Ron DeSantis. As rumors of his 2024 Presidential run began to spread online, the Disney Company canceled its Lake Nona project, costing Florida 2,000 jobs and $1 billion in investment. Shortly after, DeSantis signed a law restricting gender-affirming care for minors, drag shows, bathroom usage, and which pronouns could be used in schools.

Gov DeSantis followed that up by announcing that he would run for the Republican presidential nomination on Twitter. During DeSantis ‘ announcement, the site crashed several times and became a source of embarrassment, but he still managed to raise more than $8 million in his first 24 hours as an official candidate.

DeSantis will have to jump back into Florida politics for a minute and find someone to replace Sasso on the Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board.

We will continue to update this story on Disney Fanatic.