Orange elections chief Gilzean creates $2.1M scholarship fund named for himself

Orlando Sentinel | By Steven Walker | November 12, 2024

County Mayor Jerry Demings blasts decision as an “inappropriate” use of county money

Glen Gilzean, Orange County’s outgoing elections chief, is spending $2.1 million of the office’s budget to establish scholarships named after himself — a decision being blasted by local leaders including County Mayor Jerry Demings and the newly-elected supervisor of elections, Karen Castor Dentel.

Gilzean plans to give every graduating senior at Jones and Evans high schools the opportunity to use the “Glen Gilzean, Orange County Supervisor of Elections, Promise of the Future Scholarship” to attend Valencia College or Orange Technical College, according to an agreement made with the colleges in September.

The elections office also plans to host two pep rally events at Jones and Evans High on Friday featuring bands, cheerleaders and free t-shirts, according to a memo sent to school board members Nov. 6.

With controversy building about Gilzean’s plan, school district officials told the Sentinel that the pep rally dates were not confirmed, but an SOE spokesperson said the events were still planned as of Monday afternoon.

Gilzean insisted in an interview late Monday that the scholarship plan encourages civic engagement among future voters, and is targeted at schools located in “voting deserts” in Orange County.

“The taxpayers got a two for one deal right?” Gilzean said. “Where we’re not only getting young people civically engaged, we’re creating lifelong voters and you’re now getting an opportunity to get someone out of poverty. It’s a win.”

But Demings said in a statement that he does not consider the program a legitimate use of the Supervisor of Elections budget, which is appropriated by Orange County government and earmarked for elections-related spending.

“In my opinion, it is inappropriate for Mr. Gilzean to use taxpayer funds to name a scholarship fund after himself.”

Gilzean is a DeSantis appointee who took the helm of the office earlier this year after the surprise retirement of longtime Orange County elections supervisor Bill Cowles, but chose not to run for reelection. A Republican, Gilzean has regularly found himself at odds with the county’s mostly Democratic political leadership — with the scholarship program the latest example.

In his waning days in office, Gilzean is also funding almost $300,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations to “increase civic engagement through voter education.” Some organizations that received taxpayer-funded grants include the YCMA of Central Florida, Habitat for Humanity, Florida A&M Foundation, and four churches.

Critics have suggested both the grants and the scholarships are an inappropriate use of funding in an office which struggled to run more traditional voter programs efficiently.

But Gilzean said the scholarship is an “innovative” approach to voter outreach, and that he is within his right to spend the $2.1 million since the county appropriates funds per election cycle. He also said the scholarship was only named after him because his name is on the Supervisor of Elections office, and that the name would change when the next supervisor is sworn in.

To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be Orange County residents and be registered or pre-registered to vote. With this provision, the Supervisor of Elections hopes to “encourage voter registration thereby strengthening the election process with the involvement of Generation Z,” according to the agreement with Valencia College.

Gilzean insisted on X that the scholarships have additional relevance to his office’s central mission, and would be awarded to “students willing to trade their free time for help with our elections.” But that requirement is not included in the agreement with Valencia College.

Gilzean has a tight connection to Valencia College through attorney Michael Sasso, the chair of Valencia College’s board of trustees and best man at Gilzean’s wedding. Gilzean hired Sasso as a legal representative for the Orange County Supervisor of Elections.

Gilzean said in the Monday interview with the Sentinel that he consulted broadly with other interested parties as he established the scholarship program at Valencia.

But Demings said he and Gilzean spoke only briefly at an early voting location Oct. 28 where Gilzean said he would soon announce the scholarships, while offering no additional details. The county learned more only through a media inquiry made Friday, he said.

“He certainly should not have pledged unused funds from his FY 23-24 budget for the purpose of establishing a scholarship fund in his name at Valencia College,” Demings said in the statement. “Instead, the funds should have been returned to Orange County Government.”

Castor Dentel, a longtime Orange County school board member who is set to take over as Orange’s elections chief, said if Gilzean intended to use the funds, they would have been better spent addressing long lines at early voting centers and delays in mail-ballot delivery.

“There were definitely things that we could use those for to make the elections office run smoother, be more efficient, and make sure that the voters were able to actually exercise their right to vote,” she said.

She likened the pep-rally event to an episode of NBC’s “The Office” where Michael Scott promises to pay for a whole class’ college tuition but realizes he doesn’t have enough money.

“That’s what came to mind as soon as I heard about it,” Castor Dentel said. “That it would not be a promise that could necessarily be fulfilled.”