Since taking office from the embattled Glen Gilzean, new Orange County Elections Supervisor Karen Castor Dentel has fired eight employees, and another employee resigned.

The Supervisor of Elections Office paid out $63,077 in severance to seven of the terminated employees.

Out of the nine departing employees, all but one had been hired by Gilzean at various times last year in the 53-person office. Several were Gilzean’s top brass, according to personnel records released to Florida Politics in a public records request.

One employee was hired to be a “comptroller” for the office on the day Gilzean sued Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond in the final weeks of Gilzean’s term. 

Castor Dentel declined to comment on the firings.

Gilzean, who had been appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March 2024 to a partial term, made headlines for clashing with Orange County officials over his spending.

Gilzean gave about $5 million to Valencia College and other community groups and was accused of running his office bank account in the red after Orange County government cut him off from his regular budget payments at the end of his term. Gilzean argued the backlash over his spending was politically motivated.

Christopher Heath, an investigative journalist at WFTV 9 who went on to be Gilzean’s chief election administrator, was among those losing their jobs. Heath had been a staunch public defender of Gilzean and was paid $180,140 a year.

The other employees terminated were:

— Willis Perry, chief administrative officer, paid $180,139.

— Ebony Cobb, deputy chief-general counsel, paid $175,015.

— Javier Gonzalez, comptroller, paid $175,000.

— Byron Green, deputy chief-elections, paid $175,002.

— Jodie Bell, associate director of community outreach, paid $95,180.

— Rosa Centeno, senior human resources and procurement specialist, paid $93,600.

— Sharon Brandt, community outreach specialist, paid $71,999.

Meanwhile, Adeja Green, the elections coordinator for contracts and canvassing who was paid $74,880, resigned.

Florida Politics attempted to reach the former employees for comment but either did not get responses back or could not reach them.

Castor Dentel held a press conference on her first day of office last month and was asked if she planned to make staff changes. She told journalists at the time she hadn’t made any decisions yet and was still learning about the office.

Gilzean’s controversy began when Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said he found out Gilzean gave $2.1 million to Valencia College for student scholarships.

Gilzean argued he had the power as an independent constitutional officer to make decisions on how to spend his Office’s budget. He said his initiatives were innovative ways to boost voter engagement and tackle other community issues. 

The fight between Gilzean, a Republican, and Orange County officials in one of the bluest counties in the state escalated to the county refusing to give Gilzean his regularly scheduled budget payment. Gilzean sued, although the lawsuit ran out of time before his term ended.

At one point, Gilzean’s staff members were caught in limbo when Gilzean said he didn’t have enough money to pay their salaries.

The Orange County government eventually covered the personnel costs in December and paid the money directly to a payroll company, keeping it out of Gilzean’s hands.

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Two Democrats in the Florida Legislature hope to efficiently address sewage discharges and aging wastewater infrastructure with a pair of bills that would increase transparency. 

Sen. Lori Berman of Boynton Beach and Rep. Lindsay Cross of St. Petersburg filed bills (SB 978 and HB 861) ahead of the 2025 Legislative Session that would direct the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to compile a comprehensive list of wastewater treatment facilities, where those facilities are located in relation to storm surge or flood zones, treatment levels at the facilities, whether they have spilled sewage in the past and the health of surrounding water bodies. 

The list would allow the state to develop priority rankings of facility needs and how resources can best support infrastructure upgrades. It would also be used as a tool to notify the public of progress on upgrade projects. The reports from the list called for under the legislation would help guide policy and funding decisions now and into the future. 

The two lawmakers — who, it’s worth noting, each serve from the super-minority in their respective chambers — are seeking to mitigate sewage discharges, which have become leading causes of water quality degradation throughout the state. 

“It’s about time we get a handle on our state’s sewage and wastewater infrastructure. Looking at a tight budget, I am proud to file SB 978 with Rep. Cross to make sure that going forward, we are spending taxpayer dollars wisely and putting the most in need projects at the top of the list when it comes to state funding,” Berman said.

The problem is particularly acute in Cross’ hometown, St. Pete, where issues arose several years ago. A 2017 report from the state found the city, under then-Mayor Rick Kriseman, largely at fault for a 200-million-gallon sewage spill that occurred during what was then described as a 100-year rain event. The crisis nearly cost Kriseman his reelection, though he eventually pulled off a win. 

More recently, Hurricane Helene spilled nearly 1.5 million gallons of untreated wastewater through neighborhoods. The spills were blamed overwhelmingly on overwhelmed infrastructure. One facility, the Northeast Water Reclamation Facility, was responsible for 67% of the discharges. That facility suffered a seven-foot storm surge and had to be temporarily taken offline, leaving residents unable to flush toilets or do any other activity requiring water going down a drain.

“After hurricanes Eta, Debby, Helene and Milton, it’s clear that we need to prioritize resilient upgrades to our wastewater infrastructure. Residents in my district were unable to shower, wash dishes, or even use the restroom in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton due to potential damage from storm surge,” Cross said. 

“Our vital infrastructure must be upgraded to address daily usage, as well as natural disasters. This will help lawmakers prioritize how to best spend finite tax dollars to ensure that we keep our waters clean and healthy and maintain consistent services for our residents and businesses.”

The legislation already has support from outside groups. 

Mia McCormick, an advocate with Environment Florida, said clean water is a way of life in the Sunshine State. 

“Over 70 million gallons of pollution spilled into our waterways and communities across the state after Hurricane Milton last year. The Advanced Wastewater Treatment bill is a great step to reducing sewage pollution and making our aging wastewater infrastructure more resilient,” she said.

And Tampa Bay Waterkeeper Executive Director Justin Tramble echoed that support.

“Florida is burdened by aging and inadequate wastewater infrastructure, causing water quality issues throughout our state,” he said. “It is important that we prioritize significant investments that bring us up to the 21st century. We are encouraged by this bill, which will have broad support in communities across the state. As Floridians, we’ve seen firsthand the devastating impact of raw sewage dumped into our rivers and bays. It’s time we prioritize getting this fixed. Our water is just too important to do anything less.”

Berman filed her bill on Friday, while Cross filed hers on Thursday. 

If passed and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the law would take effect July 1. Neither bill has yet been assigned to a Committee. 

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Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis will host a fundraiser in March for Joe Gruters, the candidate Patronis endorsed to succeed him. And more than half of Gruters’ Republican colleagues in the Senate are on the host committee.

Gruters’ Chief Financial Officer campaign sent out an e-vite showing the list of elected officials helping raise money for his 2026 race.

Patronis and Sen. Randy Fine serve as the top hosts. Notably, both Fine and Patronis recently won Republican Primaries for the two vacancies in Florida’s congressional delegation and head into April 1 Special Elections as heavy favorites to win those seats. Both candidates were endorsed by President Donald Trump, who also has endorsed Gruters for Chief Financial Officer.

Besides Fine, 16 other Republican Senators also are part of the host committee. That includes two former Senate Presidents: Don Gaetz and Kathleen Passidomo.

Sens. Jennifer Bradley, Jason Brodeur, Danny Burgess, Colleen Burton, Alexis Calatayud, Ileana Garcia, Erin Grall, Ed Hooper, Stan McClain, Ana Maria Rodriguez, Keith Truenow, Jay Trumbull, Tom Wright and Clay Yarborough are all listed on the e-vite.

So is Tom Gallagher, the state’s first Chief Financial Officer, who served from 2003 to 2007.

The host committee is almost more notable for which Senators are not listed. The fundraiser will be held at the Governors Club March 3 at 6 p.m.

One expected absence is Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican widely seen as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ likely favorite to appoint as Chief Financial Officer once Patronis vacates the seat at the end of March. Gruters has said he will run in 2026 regardless of who DeSantis appoints to the position.

Some other Senators closely aligned with DeSantis, including Sens. Bryan Avila, Jay Collins and Jonathan Martin, also are not on the host committee for Gruters.

Senate President Ben Albritton isn’t on the e-vite, nor is Sen. Jim Boyd, the Bradenton Republican in line to succeed Albritton.

But of the 27 Republicans in the Senate besides Gruters, 17 will be actively raising money for his statewide campaign at the event.

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