Ron DeSantis appoints former Jeopardy champion as new board member for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

Jun 01, 2023 in "Reedy Creek Improvement District"

Posted: Thursday June 1, 2023 4:!5pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has today announced the appointment of Charbel Barakat to the board of his hand-picked Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Charbel Barakat replaces Michael Sasso Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

Charbel Barakat, a former Jeopardy champion, replaces Michael Sasso who resigned last week from his board position after less than four months in the job.

Barakat, of Tampa, is the Regional General Counsel for D.R. Horton, Inc. He currently serves as a Commissioner for the Second District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission and serves on the Florida Development Finance Corporation. Barakat is Vice President of the Federalist Society for the Tampa Bay Chapter and Chairman of the Volume Builders Council for the Florida Home Builders Association. Barakat earned his bachelor’s degree in international studies from Johns Hopkins University and his juris doctor from New York University School of Law.

The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

Barakat will join the board that was appointed by DeSantis to replace the Reedy Creek Improvement District at the end of February 2023. Other members of the five-person board are Bridget Ziegler, one of the authors of Florida's controversial Parental Bill of Rights law, Ron Peri, a former senior pastor of Evangel Baptist Church and now CEO of The Gathering, and lawyers Martin Garcia and Brian Aungst.

The entire board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is being sued by the Walt Disney Company as part of the lawsuit against the district and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

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tissandtully1 day ago

Yeah, apparently she should be done on Feb. 26th, but who knows what Ronnie has in mind.

JoeCamel1 day ago

She still there? Thought she was busy with her OF

tissandtully1 day ago

Glances over at Bridget.....

lazyboy97o3 days ago

You’re so out of touch with the times. Institutional knowledge isn’t based. The terms are clearly part of the facade of propriety. The posts are minor patronage and an example of “new” ideas of executive power. People can rotate through and they get to pad their resume because the board only needs to exist, not overtly act, at this time. So long as Disney remains compliant anyone can provide the rubber stamp. Who has remained is quite telling.

wdwmagic3 days ago

Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board Changes Again as Vice Chair Departs https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/reedy-creek-improvement-district/news/18feb2025-central-florida-tourism-oversight-district-board-changes-again-as-vice-chair-departs.htm

LAKid533 days ago

Because the originals work is done.

mmascari3 days ago

How normal is it for boards roughly like this one to change members this often disconnected from their terms? I keep wondering what the point of terms even is, if we're just going to replace members whenever anyway.

lazyboy97o6 days ago

This is not normalcy nor should we lie and pretend it is. Development and building are local concerns and this structure remains abnormal and completely outside the construct of what are supposed to be legal taxing authorities. The threats remain clear, even if they’re just more loudly coming from others at the moment, and Disney is actively complying.

JoeCamel6 days ago

I think I would like to know Gilbert's campaign contribution history he seems to fit the bill of a Florida real estate salesman. Those and car dealers seem to gravitate to being politicians. Oh and lawyers too. I guess I yearn for the days of citizen service where the motives were clear but the money is way too high a bar for most.

Stripes6 days ago

These seem like decent appointments. Certainly better than the departing board members. With these appointments, it would seem to me that the new board will have members that are all qualified to be there. With the showdown over, things have returned to normalcy.

wdwmagic7 days ago

DeSantis Reshapes Disney's Central Florida Tourism Oversight District with New Appointments https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/reedy-creek-improvement-district/news/15feb2025-desantis-reshapes-disneys-central-florida-tourism-oversight-district-with-new-appointments.htm

DCBaker7 days ago

Ron DeSantis has appointed 3 new members to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board of Supervisors: TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of Alexis Yarbrough as Chair, John Gilbert, and Scott Workman to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. Alexis Yarbrough Yarbrough is the current Chair of the Broward College District Board of Trustees. She previously served as Chair and Commissioner on the Fourth District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission. Yarbrough earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Miami and her juris doctor from Nova Southeastern University. John Gilbert Gilbert is the Executive Managing Director at Stream Realty Partners. He was recognized as the 2007 and the 2012 Orlando Office Broker of the Year by the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks, Commercial Real Estate Development Association. Gilbert earned his bachelor's degree in real estate from Florida State University. Scott Workman Workman is the Owner of Workman Transportation and Owner and President of Workman Travel. He has been active in the transportation industry in Orlando for over 25 years. Workman attended the University of Iowa. These appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate. https://www.flgov.com/eog/news/press/2025/governor-ron-desantis-appoints-three-central-florida-tourism-oversight-district

lazyboy97o9 days ago

The FCC is investigating Comcast over their internal corporate practices that have nothing to actually do with broadcasting. Make no mistake, this is why Iger capitulated.