A lawsuit filed against Orange County by the county’s elections supervisor, Glen Gilzean, will move forward as originally scheduled, despite Gilzean’s attempt to expedite the case by asking a judge to narrow the county’s window of time to respond.
The judge denied that request Wednesday, confirming that the county’s Jan. 1 deadline to respond to Gilzean’s complaint remains in place. Once the county responds, Gilzean will have 20 days to file his response, per the order — but in reality, because Gilzean’s term ends Jan. 6, he’ll only have two business days to file a response, according to the elections office.
Gilzean filed his lawsuit earlier this month, following the county’s decision to withhold funds previously allocated to his office. The county alleges Gilzean misspent funds in October and November, a claim the elections office has vehemently denied.
“These officials have attempted to mislead the public by making baseless accusations about the handling of the elections office budget,” Gilzean’s office wrote in a statement issued Friday. It characterized the county’s criticism of Gilzean’s recent spending as “a political witch hunt.” That scrutiny amounts to nothing more than “a fundamental misunderstanding of the elections process” from Mayor Jerry Demings and County Comptroller Phil Diamond, according to Gilzean's statement.
Meanwhile, an investigative report released by Diamond’s office earlier this week finds Gilzean spent too much too quickly and disbursed funds that were never approved per Florida law. As of Dec. 12, barely two months into the current fiscal year, Gilzean had spent more than half of his office’s total annual budget, according to the comptroller’s investigation.
In light of concerns about Gilzean’s alleged misspending, Orange County withheld funding allocated to his office for December. That move created concern that the elections office might not be able to pay employees as scheduled Dec. 12 — but ultimately, staff were paid, according to a spokesperson for the office Friday.
What still remains unclear is how exactly elections staff will receive this year’s final paychecks, scheduled for December 26. County officials say they’ll ensure staff do get paid.
A statement released by Gilzean’s office Friday mischaracterizes the ongoing lawsuit, wrongfully stating that a Florida circuit court this week ruled in favor of Gilzean and found Diamond’s actions were unlawful.
In reality, the Dec. 12 court order simply affirms the claim Gilzean has brought is “facially sufficient,” meaning the case can proceed. Contrary to what the elections office’s statement alleges, the court order makes no determination or “ruling” in favor of either party: plaintiff or defendant.
