Disney giving generously to candidates in 2010 run-up

From Sentinel Staff Writer Jason Garcia

Walt Disney World isn’t taking many chances when it comes to the 2010 elections.

The giant resort was generous to both the Republican Party of Florida and the Florida Democratic Party during the third quarter, new state records show.

Disney gave the Republicans more money in direct contributions: $90,000 vs. $50,000 for the Democrats. But the Democrats got more freebies from the resort: $121,162 worth of rooms, food and tickets compared with $47,671 for the state GOP. The vast majority of the freebies given to the Democrats — $110,000 worth — went toward the party’s three-day convention earlier this month at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club.

The bipartisan check-writing shouldn’t come as a surprise: Florida has a wide-open race for governor in 2010, with neither party’s likely nominee — Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum and Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink — a clear front runner.

Four years ago, during the run-up to the previous mid-term election, Disney gave $30,000 cash and $20,953 worth of in-kind goods and services to state Republicans in the third quarter of 2005, compared with $10,000 cash and $636 in freebies to the Democrats.