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Orange County has recouped some of the taxpayer money that Mayor Jerry Demings said was wrongfully spent by Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean for a scholarship fund.
CareerSource Central Florida terminated its $1.9 million contract and returned the grant money to the county comptroller.
In a statement, Demings and Comptroller Phil Diamond said “the board of county commissioners will determine in the near future how these monies could be utilized, in a way that will make the most sense for the residents of Orange County.”
In an exclusive WESH 2 Investigates interview on Wednesday, Gilzean defended his spending as legal and in the best interest of the county’s taxpayers.
County officials have threatened to sue him over his $2.1 million scholarship fund agreement with Valencia College.
CareerSource in its letter to Gilzean said after consulting legal counsel on options, the Executive Committee for CareerSource Central Florida voted to terminate the funding agreement and planned to deliver a check for $1.9 million to Diamond.
Gilzean said in a statement:
“The mayor and some board of county commissioners are on a partisan witch hunt to skewer a political opponent. Our office did an excellent job of managing the 2024 election and we intend to keep our promise to leave this office and our community better off than before.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Gilzean to the supervisor job in March when longtime supervisor Bill Cowles retired.
Gilzean did not run in this year’s election.
Orange County School Board member Karen Castor Dentel takes over the elections office in January.
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