TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a Tampa man to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District on Thursday.
Charbel Barakat, of Tampa, will serve on the board once his appointment is confirmed by the Florida Senate.
Barakat 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 the Florida Development Finance Corporation.
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District was put in place after DeSantis’ and Republican lawmakers dissolved the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
Now they are embroiled in a legal fight.
The fight is over who controls the special governing district which decides what gets built at Disney World and runs the municipal-like services on the 25,000 acres that make up the theme park resort, according to the Associated Press.