A judge ruled against former Orlando Commissioner Regina Hill on Friday, striking down her attempt to overturn her successor’s election and concluding she had failed to document bribery or illegal voting took place during last year’s race for City Council.
Commissioner Shan Rose won a three-way race for the seat Nov. 4 with 52% of the vote. Rose, sworn into office Jan. 12, is now serving a four-year term representing the downtown-area District 5.
About a week after the election, Hill filed the lawsuit asking a judge to toss out the results of the vote or declare her the winner.
Hill alleged that someone associated with Rose’s campaign offered Visa gift cards and health screenings in exchange for votes in favor of Rose and that the campaign was ballot harvesting, or collecting more than two absentee ballots, in violation of Florida law.
But Chief Judge Lisa Munyon ruled that Hill’s allegations didn’t constitute a bribe and that there was no proof of illegal votes.
“There is simply no factual basis to suggest illegal votes of any kind,” Munyon wrote in her ruling. “In fact, Plaintiff fails to explain how, even if illegal ballot harvesting did occur, that these votes would be illegal.”
Rose celebrated the ruling, saying it was a victory for the voters of her district.
“The people spoke through their ballots, and today the Court confirmed that their voices cannot and will not be erased by baseless legal attacks,” she said. “Now that this distraction is over, we are moving forward.”
The lawsuit is the latest chapter in the long rivalry between Hill and Rose. Prior to last year’s election, Rose won an election to serve as interim commissioner after Hill was removed from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis following her felony indictment on charges of elder abuse and fraud. That case against Hill is still pending.
Last year, Hill sought to regain her seat, despite still facing felony charges. The certified election results show Rose received nearly 52% of ballots cast, with Hill receiving about 33%. While there was a sizeable 452-vote margin between the two, if Rose had received just 44 fewer votes she would have failed to exceed the 50% mark and would have been forced into a runoff with Hill in December.
At a Jan. 13 hearing on the lawsuit, attorneys for Rose and the county’s election canvassing board, which was also sued, argued Hill’s charges lacked “material facts” to back them up. The judge, in her ruling, largely agreed.
Following that hearing, Hill contended that criminal acts had occurred during the election, and prosecutors should act.
“There’s much criminal activity. There’s ballot harvesting, there’s bribery and there’s illegal use of taxpayer dollars to win an election,” she said. “It’s a stolen election.”
Friday evening, Hill, who can still appeal, referred questions to her attorney, but he declined to comment.