Disney asks for delay in DeSantis appointees' lawsuit, as worker describes a distracted district

abcnews.go.com:

Disney has requested a second court delay in its legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees over who controls Walt Disney World’s governing district

ORLANDO, Fla. — Disney this week requested a second delay in a state court case involving its legal battle with Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointees over who controls Walt Disney World's governing district, as the company accused them and the governor's office of stonewalling requests for documents that are part of the litigation.

The entertainment giant's request came as a district employee said in a deposition that the takeover of the district's board by DeSantis' appointees last year, and its subsequent politicization, has caused around 50 of its 370 employees to leave. The board has a scheduled monthly meeting Wednesday.

“There is a very, very, very politically motivated board, and I know we try not to acknowledge that, but that is a huge reason why a lot of people are leaving,” Erin O'Donnell, the district's public records administrator, said in a deposition, sections of which were filed in court last week. “Other people may have had their own issues with leadership… but a lot of people have left just due to the entire shakeup of the district.”

The governing district provides municipal services such as planning, mosquito control and firefighting in the roughly 40 square miles (100 square kilometers) in central Florida that make up Disney World.

DeSantis and the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature took control of the district's board last year, almost a year after Disney publicly opposed the state’s so-called don’t say gay law, which bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades. The law was championed by DeSantis, who had