The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County voted for its new CEO Monday amid tension between board members about whether the monthslong process was dictated by political pressure.

In January, the 11-member board of high-ranking officials and gubernatorial appointees selected three finalists: interim CEO Michael Mikurak, Manatee County schools Associate Superintendent Kevin Chapman and Glenton “Glen” Gilzean Jr., a frequent appointee of Gov. Ron DeSantis who was accused of misspending millions in his last position.

The candidates were interviewed during a six-hour meeting in February, which ended with board members voting 5-5 for Mikurak and Gilzean during a straw poll. Public Defender Sara Mollo abstained from the vote.

On Monday, after about an hour of public comment and debate, Mollo called for the vote to select Gilzean.

The vote passed 6-5, with DeSantis appointees Melissa Rutland, Brian Aungst Jr., Kristen Gnage, Alicia McShea and Renee Chiea voting for Gilzean alongside Mollo. State Attorney Bruce Bartlett, Pinellas schools Superintendent Kevin Hendrick, Commissioner Chris Latvala, Judge Patrice Moore and Division Fire Chief Jim Millican voted against.

The board will hold a second vote in two weeks before Gilzean’s appointment becomes official. The job application lists the CEO’s salary range between $200,000 and $245,000.

Before the vote, some officials reiterated their concerns that the board had taken a political turn. The special district, funded by taxpayer dollars, was created nearly 80 years ago under Florida law to support the county’s children and families.

“I think this board has lost its way. We’re not talking about kids anymore; we’ve turned this thing into an entire political warfare,” said Millican, who serves as board chairperson. “People are sitting on this board for their own political gain; people are sitting on this board for many reasons other than the children.”

‘Something screwy going on’

Before the vote, Mollo proposed a change to the organization’s bylaws. Instead of requiring two separate votes for a candidate who receives a 6-5 vote, the change would shoe the candidate in upon the initial vote.

Mollo said her intent was to make the process more efficient. She said she didn’t believe the two-week delay in votes “served a purpose.”

Latvala was adamant that the bylaw should not pass.

“I believe that there’s something screwy going on,” he told the board. “This motion stinks to the high heavens and we should not do it. I believe that there are people that tried to intentionally speed up this process from the moment we had an interim CEO.”

Other county officials on the board spoke about suspending the vote entirely and starting the process over.

“We’re rushing into this without knowing all the players in the game, all the parts and the pieces that have to be put together,” Bartlett said. “I feel like we’re being pushed into this. We’re behaving in some respects like a bunch of kids ourselves, and it just really annoys the heck out of me, and I just don’t think this is the time to make a snap decision.”

The bylaw failed by a 5-6 vote. All of the DeSantis appointees except Gnage voted in favor, and the rest of the board voted against.

Pending legal action

While some board members pushed for the vote to happen Monday, they did so against the guidance of board consultant Mary Grace Duffy.

“My observation is that you really do not have great consensus about what the process should be or what you’re really looking for,” she said, suggesting that the board postpone the vote.

Duffy shared her opinion after attorneys spoke about a pending lawsuit between the interim CEO and board member Chiea, who was appointed by DeSantis in May.

Mikurak, through a lawyer, is accusing Chiea of making defamatory statements about him that might have impacted the vote at the February meeting.

“This looks a lot to me how politics are played today, and this organization’s governing documents made a specific point of separating politics from the people who run and work at the organization,” said his lawyer, Shane Vogt. “This process should be better. There’s a place for this — Tallahassee and Washington — and it’s not in this room.”

Chiea’s lawyer, Luke Lirot, said during public comment that he “did not see any evidence of anything that was defamatory” and that the board should continue toward a vote.

Chiea called the litigation “manufactured craziness” and said she wanted to call the vote. She asked to hire Gilzean “effective immediately,” but Flynn said that the motion had to be cleaned up.

Mollo proposed a new version of the motion, which passed 6-5.

Questions remain

Mikurak’s lawyer asked the Juvenile Welfare Board to investigate “any attempts or efforts to improperly or unlawfully influence the JWB CEO selection process” and suspend Chiea from her position, according to a demand letter sent March 23.

“I think the entire process — starting from the very beginning — has been flawed,” Hendrick, the board member and schools superintendent, said during Monday’s meeting. “I think we went about it the wrong way. I think we should have hired an external expert to get candidates who meet the mission of JWB, and I certainly think in the last couple months it has been far more political.”

While serving as the Orange County supervisor of elections in 2024, Gilzean was accused of spending $9.9 million in a two-month period without approval, according to an investigative audit by the county comptroller’s office. That position was Gilzean’s eighth gubernatorial appointment by either DeSantis or former Gov. Rick Scott — part of the reason why some board members believe the appointment is political.

Some officials said the board’s contentious search for a CEO has influenced public perception.

Before the vote was cast, Latvala told the board that United Way Suncoast had roughly 275 people apply to be its CEO. The Juvenile Welfare Board had six.

“I think that is telling and has no reflection on the wonderful staff,” he said. “I think it has to do with the people sitting around this dais.”

Hendrick said the board’s dysfunction has been brought up to him by several people.

“In my role as superintendent, I’ve spoken to a lot of providers and staff members because they interact with the school district all the time, and they share the sentiments of the embarrassment to which this operation has gone on.”