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Orange County’s mayor is considering taking legal action against the county’s supervisor of elections over a plan to use taxpayer money to offer college scholarships.
“I think that we have to stand up for the people’s money and make sure that it’s used in the most appropriate manner,” Mayor Jerry Demings told WESH 2 on Thursday.
Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean said he planned to spend $2.1 million worth of funding that was leftover from the recent elections to pay for scholarships to Valencia College and Orange Technical College. The scholarships would be open to students from Jones High and Evans High Schools.
But the name of the scholarship raised eybrows: originally, it was titled the “The Glen Gilzean, Orange County Supervisor of Elections, Promise of the Future Scholarship Fund.” He has since amended the agreement to change the title to the “Orange County Promise of the Future Scholarship Fund.”
But Demings and others say it’s not an appropriate use of the funding. Typically, the supervisor of elections returns excess funds to the county’s budget for other uses. Budget officials say they were expecting $800,000 to be returned, but only received $688,542.
Demings also said constitutional officers, like the elections supervisor, have specific duties under the county charter and state law.
“They all have very specific, codified purposes in both the county charter as well as Florida law,” Demings said. “We want them to stay within that framework and not venture out and take money that we provide to them for one thing, and they use it for something totally different. That’s not appropriate.”
The mayor said he will consult with the county’s lawyers and comptroller before holding a meeting with county commissioners on filing a lawsuit to block the scholarships.
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