ORLANDO, Fla — Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Glen Gilzean as supervisor of elections for Orange County Monday.

The post was formerly held by Bill Cowles, who retired earlier this year. Gilzean will serve the rest of Cowles' term, which will last until Jan. 6, 2025. 

Gilzean is currently administrator of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District — which was created to replace the Reedy Creek District that previously oversaw the lands around Disney's property in the area. 

Before that, Gilzean was appointed chairman of the Florida Commission on Ethics, as well as CEO of the Central Florida Urban League. 

Now that he has been named Orange County's elections supervisor, Gilzean said in a Facebook post that Paula J. Hoisington will be acting district administrator of the Tourism Oversight District "during my unavailability."

Gilzean did not say in the post if he would hold both public offices simultaneously while serving as elections supervisor.

The Supervisor of Elections Office is currently preparing for the state's presidential preference primary, slated for March 19. Early voting in that election started Monday. Several municipalities in Central Florida are expected to hold ballot questions or other charter amendments during the primary as well. 

Cowles was in office for 34 years and oversaw the fifth-largest county elections office in the state of Florida through multiple recounts.

The recounts included the infamous presidential election of 2000, the statewide gubernatorial election of 2018 and the County Commission Seat 6 race in 2022.

He led the county through its adoption of paper-based voting machines in the 90s, early voting in the 2000 election, as well as the switch to vote-by-mail and other advanced technologies in recent years.

“It has been my honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Orange County for more than 34 years, first as chief deputy for seven years, followed by 27 years as supervisor of elections, conducting a total of 96 county, state, federal, and municipal elections over my tenure,” Cowles said during a press conference announcing his retirement. 

“While I will miss the work tremendously, I am looking forward to the next adventure, having more time to spend with family, traveling, and catching up on all of those experiences that took a back seat when the duties of conducting an election were priority,” he continued.

In February, Cowles announced he would not run for another term in 2024. At the time, he said that it was important for him to “pass the torch” so he could enjoy a private life with his wife and four grandsons.

“So that’s the reason for me, you know, to begin a new chapter in my life," he said at the press conference. "I have joked that I can finally open up my calendar. And when my spouse says, ‘let's go on a trip,’ I can just say when, where and let’s go."

Orange County Democratic Party Chair Samuel Vilchez responded to Cowles' announced depart by thanking Cowles for his years of service, but added that he was concerned at the prospect of DeSantis being responsible for finding a replacement. 

"We are concerned about the fact that Governor Ron DeSantis will be appointing Cowles’ temporary replacement," Vilchez said in a statement. "Governor DeSantis and his team have a history of advancing anti-Democratic policies and appointing highly partisan figures to replace Democratically elected officials across the state. We call on the Governor to appoint someone who can actually represent the majority of Orange County voters and who will prioritize our county’s election integrity in the same way Supervisor Cowles has for 34 years."