ORLANDO, Fla. – A potential legal battle is brewing between the Orange County government and the county’s supervisor of elections office over a reported budget surplus of $4 million that was spent on a scholarship at Valencia College and training programs at CareerSource Central Florida.
On Thursday, Mayor Jerry Demings criticized the spending by Elections Supervisor Glenn Gilzean, as first reported by the Orlando Sentinel, saying he was concerned that the money, which the county budgets out, was used outside the office’s scope and purpose.
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“I’m convinced that we have an obligation to seek every option that we have to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent appropriately. And in this instance, as it relates to the supervisor of elections office, we’re going to move forward, and I will have to have a conversation with the county commission about the merits of a potential lawsuit,” Demings said.
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News 6 obtained the contracts with Valencia College, dated Sept. 27, and with CareerSource Central Florida, dated Sept. 30.
In the Valencia contract, Gilzean allocated $2.1 million from the supervisor of elections office to fund the "Glen Gilzean, Orange County Supervisor of Elections, Promise of the Future Scholarship Fund."
The money would be awarded to students attending Jones or Evans high schools, or any private, charter or home school students zoned for those public schools, who were registered to vote and were pursuing degrees in cybersecurity and network engineering at Valencia College.
“This initiative also seeks to encourage voter registration, thereby strengthening the election process with the involvement of Generation Z. By linking educational advancement with voter registration, the Scholarship Fund aims to cultivate a sense of civic duty and responsibility,” the contract said.
Gilzean has since removed his name from the scholarship, and an event Friday announcing the program was postponed.
In the CareerSource contract, Gilzean allocated $1.9 million toward three programs to help pay for training, certification fees and job placement support.
The money for two of the programs, the “Public Sectors Pathway Program” and the “High-Growth Industry Training for OC Residents,” would be used primarily for former election staff and poll workers who were Orange County residents, though any registered voter could apply.
The third program, “High School Career Express Expansion,” was for juniors and seniors at Wekiva, Ocoee, Edgewater and Cypress Creek high schools, or any alternative, private, charter or home school students.
The agreement also said CareerSource would collaborate with the elections office to “incorporate voter registration and civic engagement into the workforce projects.”
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A spokesman for Gilzean’s office said the $4 million came from a surplus in the budget. He said the office had budgeted for a bigger vote-by-mail response than it ended up needed, and lackluster turnout for the Presidential Preference Primary and the Florida Statewide Primary in August also contributed to the surplus.
However, Demings is concerned that the money was not used toward shoring up polling places for the November election. During the early voting period that started Oct. 22, wait times at many of the county’s 22 polling locations had long waits. Waits at the Alafaya Library polling location and the UCF location were notoriously hours long.
The contracts with Valencia and CareerSource were drawn up weeks before early voting started.
“I can tell you that voters have said to me, that through this last election cycle, they did not feel that everything had been done because they were waiting in long lines and not enough locations,” Demings said. “I believe there was an opportunity for Mr. Gilzean to use part of these unused funds that he has used for other purposes outside the scope of what a supervisor of elections would normally do.”
Gilzean had acknowledged the long wait times early in the early voting period, promising to open up “express locations” with more polling booths, but long waits persisted.
Gilzean’s office blamed record turnout, with 55% of registered voters in the November election either voting early or by mail.
Other counties in Central Florida also had record turnout and, in some cases, long waits at polling places. Orange County had more polling places than any other county.
The county government sets the budget for constitutional offices, such as the supervisor of elections or the sheriff. The budgets are based on what that elected officer says they require every year.
“We fund the supervisor of elections office just like we fund the other constitutional offices to work in a particular purpose and scope. We do not fund the supervisor of elections office to enter into agreements to provide scholarships for people," Demings.
Demings also accused Gilzean of “currying favor” with different community groups with the contracts “for whatever reason,” and said that was also inappropriate, but did not elaborate.
Gilzean’s office said that because of the potential for a lawsuit, Gilzean could not comment on Demings' comments.
Gilzean was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year after the retirement of Supervisor Bill Cowles. Before this he was administrator for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, the former Reedy Creek Improvement District that oversaw Disney property. He was also the head of the Central Florida Urban League.
Gilzean did not run for the seat and will leave the office in January.
Karen Castor Dentel won the supervisor of elections race in November and will take over.
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