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ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings continues to consider legal action against Elections Supervisor Glen Gilzean for spending leftover money, roughly $4 million, in the office’s budget for a scholarship program.
Mayor Demings first said he was considering legal action last week.
While county commissioners backed the mayor’s broader stance on that money, there was some pushback on how Demings had handled the situation.
“What I’m saying is just give the opportunity to sit down with him … okay, but you can’t do things through news articles. You have to actually sit down with people and talk with them,” said District 5 commissioner Emily Bonilla.
Commissioners also questioned the cost and use of county staff time pushing forward with a potential lawsuit.
These developments come just a day after Supervisor Of Elections, Glen Gilzean released a statement saying his office acted well within the law to establish the scholarships for Valencia College. He also said his office returned more than $700,000 in unused funds to the county.
“Our office acted well within the law to establish these scholarships and will vigorously defend our mission to expand voter participation and improve the lives of Orange County citizens," said Gilzean.
Valencia College says it appreciates the forward thinking of The Orange County Supervisor Of Elections to increase voter registration and college-going rates.
The college says there has been a recent success of a similar program, the Osceola Prosper, which provides scholarships for all graduating high school seniors and is funded by the Osceola County Commission.
In a statement, Valencia College also said in part: “Our hope is that the students at Evans and Jones High Schools, which have among the lowest college-going rates in Orange County, benefit from the scholarships contemplated by the Orange County Promise Of The Future Scholarship Fund. Although it would be disappointing if students do not have access to these scholarships, if Orange County asks for the return of the funds, Valencia will return the $2.1 million contribution.”
CareerSource also received funding from the elections office and told Spectrum News they would return the funds if asked.
On Tuesday, Spectrum News spoke with former Orange County Supervisor Of Elections Bill Cowles on the phone. He said he always gave excess funds back to the county. However, he says he never signed an agreement like Gilzean did with other agencies.
During the board of county commissioners meeting Tuesday, Mayor Demings also said he’s looking forward to working with supervisor of elections-elect Karen Castor Dentel when she’s sworn in, in January.