GOP mailers attack ex-Disney exec Leonard Spencer for employers’ policies, but censor Disney name

A series of negative mailers criticized Leonard Spencer for actions taken by Disney while he was an executive there. But all manage to avoid — or conspicuously erase — any direct mention of the company.

The criticisms come as Spencer, a Gotha Democrat, seeks to unseat Republican Rep. Carolina Amesty in House District 45. The battleground seat sits in the heart of Central Florida, including much of the Walt Disney World property in Orange and Osceola counties.

Spencer worked for The Walt Disney Co. for 16 years, including four years as finance manager and more than seven years as director of supplier diversity and sustainability. The mailers criticize Spencer for his work on the diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative, which Gov. Ron DeSantis has tried to drive out of Florida public and private institutions.

The two mailers spotlight social media posts by Spencer sharing a WFTV story from 2020 on Disney’s support for the Black Lives Matter movement. “Powerful message from my fellow cast members highlighting the need for greater understanding, unity and action to address racial inequality,” Spencer wrote.

For years, Republicans have criticized Democrats for any association with Black Lives Matter. But more surprising is that the mailers avoid mentioning Disney. The news story shared in the post initially ran with prominent corporate art of the Disney logo on a red, white, and black background, but that image gets pixelated significantly in the email. The mailers also blurred out the name Disney in the article’s headline.

DeSantis previously pushed for and signed legislation stripping Disney of its self-governing powers on its Central Florida resort property, a move Amesty supported. Amesty stood at the Governor’s side in 2023 when he joked at a press conference about opening a state prison on Disney property.

So, a year later, the mailers shifted in direction, shying from any mention of the corporation while spotlighting the company’s actions in a mailer criticizing an executive at the time. The state has recently attempted to mend its relationship with the entertainment giant, with both sides backing off of litigation filed in recent years.

The Florida House Republican Campaign Committee (FHRCC) sent the mailers, but it did not respond to emails about them.

Spencer said the attack on Disney policies showed that Florida Republicans still aim to vilify HD 45’s largest employer.

“It’s the vindictive nature of what the Governor and the Republican Party are trying to do relative to The Walt Disney Co.,” he said. “At the end of the day, the company has a right to free speech and to operate business as they see fit.

The mailers with the social media posts classify the support for Black Lives Matter as de facto support for “Defunding Out Police,” a phrase popularized by the movement shortly after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in 2020.

Spencer took offense at being associated with the “Defund The Police” movement, and said five members of his family are law enforcement officers.

“I support our police officers,” he said. “They work to protect people here, and they need our support. I understand the work they do. But by the other side, they do need to be held accountable, like anyone else in our profession.”

The latest FHRCC mailer criticizing Leonard also attacks him for a Disney policy, specifically outsourcing decisions made while Leonard worked as the company’s supplier head. Again, the mailer doesn’t identify Disney by name.

But it screenshots a federal lawsuit filed in Orlando in 2016 by Leo Perrero and Dena Moore, IT workers at Walt Disney World who claimed they were laid off and required to train immigrants from India to replace them. The lawsuit was named Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, though the screenshot in the anti-Spencer mailer never included the company’s name.

However, most Disney employees will likely immediately recognize the lawsuit involving the company because the screenshot includes mention of Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO.

“Plaintiffs were informed by Defendant that they would be responsible for training the new employees who would then replace them,” the lawsuit said. “As stated by Bob Iger, the Chief Executive of Defendant, this was ‘insulting.’”

The mailer is one of multiple ones attacking Spencer for supporting policies “great for foreign countries” and “bad for Floridians.” Another mailer criticized the Orlando Economic Partnership’s decisions in 2020 when Spencer worked on DEI initiatives with the local organization. The mailer said the partnership “opposed holding the Chinese accountable for taking American jobs” and superimposed Spencer’s face alongside China President Xi Jinping.