ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orange County Supervisor of Elections appeared to find her financial lifeline weeks after taking over the scandal-plagued office
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On Tuesday, Karen Castor-Dentel told commissioners that Valencia College agreed “in principle” to return the $2.1 million awarded to the institution by former supervisor Glen Gilzean.
In November, WFTV broke the news about Gilzean’s unauthorized gift of money meant to prepare for the 2024 election. This triggered a cascading controversy that ballooned to $5 million in payments involving different organizations.
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Orange County agreed to route the payment back to Castor-Dentel’s office to help her make payroll and cover the unpaid bills left over from Gilzean’s tenure, which includes $275,000 to the sheriff’s office for election security.
“I would say there has been some positive momentum,” Castor-Dentel said, cautioning that it was up to Valencia to follow through with their promise to repay the money.
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Valencia confirmed the money would be paid back.
“The Valencia College Foundation and the college are following our respective institutional processes to terminate the Supervisor of Elections gift agreement and facilitate the return of the funds,” a spokeswoman wrote.
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Castor-Dentel said she expected to have the money in a few weeks and promised to work out a new arrangement with the school involving voting precincts and internships that she described as “mutually beneficial.”
With the return of the money, a staff member in the office confirmed they would recover the “lion’s share” of the overall $5 million Gilzean spent.
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