TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A state representative who opposed removing a statue of a Confederate general representing Florida in the U.S. Capitol is now blocking its replacement, apparently because he isn't happy Walt Disney won't be standing in its place.
Republican Rep. Scott Plakon blocked a bill that would have replaced the statue Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith with one of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, the woman credited with helping create the national park that preserves 1.5 million acres of wetlands in southern Florida.
Why?
Plakon said the process to pick a replacement was flawed. Republican Rep. Jose Felix Diaz sponsored last year's bill to remove the Smith statue and is sponsoring a bill this year to have Douglas represent Florida.
He said there's more to Plakon's decision. He said Plakon "was really stuck on Disney."