Glen Gilzean spent 51% of his budget in 2.5 months, Comptroller says

Orange County Elections Supervisor Glen Gilzean spent 51% of his annual budget in 2.5 months according to Comptroller Phil Diamond’s investigation, which says Gilzean broke the law and is in jeopardy of overdrafting his Office’s checking account by $590,000.

“As a result of this persistent overspending, the newly elected Supervisor of Elections will take office with only 49% of the annual budget available on January 7th,” Diamond’s report said, finding that Gilzean spent nearly $9.9 million of his $19 million budget between Oct. 1 and Dec. 12.

Gilzean, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and did not seek a full term, is leaving office on Jan. 6.

“Comptroller Diamond’s opinion of this office’s finances isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” Gilzean said in response to Diamond’s investigation Monday.

The Orange County Commission voted earlier this month to withhold Gilzean’s December budget payment. Gilzean argued he needed the funds to pay for expenses running the Nov. 5 General Election and his payroll. 

Gilzean sued Diamond and the county to get his budget payment. A judge said Gilzean’s suit has a “facially sufficient claim” but there doesn’t appear enough time left in Gilzean’s term for the lawsuit to get a court hearing.

In a statement Monday, Gilzean said, “The judge’s ruling is clear: the Comptroller broke the law by withholding payroll funds from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections. …Therefore, the investigation into allegations of improper spending and accounting practices is irrelevant.

Gilzean added Diamond’s “inability to understand basic county governance practices is the reason County Commissioners took a misguided vote to cut off our ability to pay staff.”

Diamond said the election chiefs in Hillsborough and Palm Beach counties — which have about the same number of registered voters as Orange — had only spent 27% and 35% of their annual budgets compared to Gilzean.

For the past month, Orange County officials have raised the alarm about Gilzean’s spending ever since Mayor Jerry Demings voiced concerns that Gilzean gave $2.1 million to Valencia College for student scholarships without getting county approval.

“My goal in sounding the alarm about the spending by the Supervisor of Elections was to hold him accountable to the taxpayers and the Orange County Board of County Commissioners for spending the people’s money. Ultimately, our citizens deserve more transparency and assurance that the SOE follows the law. This is not about partisan politics but about right versus wrong and lawful versus unlawful,” Demings said Monday.

“Perhaps the Governor should consider removing Mr. Gilzean from office now and appointing the incoming elected Supervisor of Elections, Karen Castor Dentel.”

Demings vowed to discuss the situation more at Tuesday’s Orange County Commission meeting.

Gilzean has defended his actions, arguing he had a surplus at the end of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 and was an independent constitutional officer, meaning he could spend the money how he wanted by tackling deeper community issues beyond just running the county’s elections.

Diamond’s investigation found Gilzean gave $1.37 million to the Central Florida Foundation. The report noted there was a $137,500 administration fee. 

Foundation spokeswoman Laurie Crocker said the money will cover administrative and consulting services for two years for Gilzean’s new voter outreach and education program called O.C.V.O.T.E. grant program.

“The grant program is the first-of-its-kind in the State of Florida, and was designed to partner the elections office with Orange County nonprofits to increase civic engagement through voter education,” Gilzean’s website says. “This unique partnership endeavors to utilize the impact of external partners to grow voter outreach through direct and indirect contact with the Orange County community.”

Diamond’s report said the foundation’s payment was unbudgeted and represented 6% of Gilzean’s annual budget.

Diamond listed the other vendors who had gotten paid more than $10,000 since Oct. 1, although the report doesn’t detail what the money was used for.

Kelly Services Inc., a workforce staffing company, received $2.4 million — the highest total — followed by the $1.137 million to the Central Florida Foundation.

Sasso and Sasso, where Gilzean’s good friend Michael Sasso is a partner and has represented the Elections Supervisor in court, received nearly $70,000.