Gov. Newsom Calls Disney’s Decision to Cancel $1 Billion Florida Complex a ‘Victory’ for California 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) praised The Walt Disney Co.’s decision to abandon a $1 billion complex to be constructed in Florida, calling the move a “victory” for California.

Disney executives this week ended plans to build a $1 billion complex in Florida, which would have relocated 2,000 jobs with an average salary of $120,000 from California to Florida.

The move comes amid a battle between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

As Breitbart News reported:

However, the battle between Disney and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) now appears to go far beyond the original tiff over the Parental Rights in Education law, which Disney adamantly vowed to fight against, going full groomer at the time. The DeSantis administration ultimately dismantled Disney’s self-governing status, replacing the Disney-controlled board with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, containing members approved by the governor.

After an ongoing battle over Disney sneaking in a 30-year development agreement in early February prior to the DeSantis-approved board taking control, Disney escalated the war in April, filing a lawsuit against DeSantis, in which it claimed to be a victim of the governor’s “targeted campaign of government retaliation.”

The decision to abandon construction of the Florida complex came nearly one year after the company announced it would delay development by four years.

Disney’s theme park and consumer products chairman, Josh D’Amaro, cited “changing business conditions” in an email to employees on Thursday as the reason the company abandoned the project.

Newsom claimed “victory” for the Golden State and took a shot at Florida’s “authoritarian policies.”

“Authoritarian policies have consequences,” Newsom said. “This announcement is a victory for California, and the tens of thousands of Disney employees who know they can live in a state where they are respected and safe. Disney has invested billions of dollars in California, and we look forward to their increased investment and growth in our state.”

Disney’s decision about the Florida complex also came during the same week that Disneyland resort president Ken Potrock met with Orange County, California, business and civic leaders to discuss the company’s DisneylandForward plan to expand the current Disneyland resort in Anaheim over the next 30 years.

“To put it simply, DisneylandForward sets the stage for significant and multi-decade investment in the future. This is the next generation of the Disneyland resort,” Potrock told the attendees. “When Disney invests, all boats rise and everyone benefits.”

The DisneylandForward plan, unveiled in September 2021, would generate 4,500 jobs, $11 million in tax revenue, and $1.1 billion in economic output in Anaheim for every billion dollars spent, according to Cal State Fullerton’s Anil Puri.

Newsom’s shot at DeSantis is the latest in a series of jabs the two governors have traded over the past year.

However, while Newsom focuses on DeSantis, recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data shows that Florida is in a much better economic position than California.

The BLS data released Friday found that the unemployment rate in California is nearly two percent higher than in Florida.

Florida’s unemployment rate is 2.6 percent, while California’s 4.5 percent is more than one percent higher than the national average.

Newsom’s California is also in a recession, according to the “Sahm Rule,” which maintains that “when the 3-month average unemployment rate rises a half percentage point above the low of the prior 12 months, the economy is in recession, or is about to be.”

California’s unemployment rate is up from 3.83 percent in August 2022.

Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.

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