The latest chapter in the saga of Regina Hill may play out in court.
Hill, who was suspended from her Orlando City Council post last year after a felony indictment, is suing incumbent Commissioner Shan Rose and the city, challenging the results of the Nov. 4 election.
The lawsuit filed Friday in Orange County circuit court alleges an associate of Rose’s campaign “gave or promised things of value to voters in exchange for their votes,” and also that the campaign was “ballot harvesting.”
It asks for a judge to toss out the results of the election or to declare Hill the winner.
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.
Rose did not return a request for comment Monday and hasn’t commented publicly on the lawsuit.
Hill’s allegations center on a flyer offering free health screenings and $45 Visa gift cards. The flyer had the city logo and Rose’s photo, presumably as part of her official capacity as the interim city commissioner.
It also had a QR code to sign up, and on that webpage was an advertisement reading “Support Shan Rose,” about her campaign for a full term on the city council.
The complaint states that after Rose was made aware of the advertisement on Nov. 7, three days after the election, it was deleted.
The lawsuit also contends that Rose’s campaign collected ballots from people at a nursing home in the district, citing interviews from seniors there who said they didn’t vote despite ballots being cast under their names.
“Upon information and belief, the number of illegal votes harvested by Defendant Rose’s campaign were sufficient to change or place in doubt the result of the election,” the suit states.
While the lawsuit lists a few seniors who claimed they didn’t vote when asked by a supporter of Hill’s, their votes fall well short of the amount needed to change the result of the race.
A hearing in the matter hadn’t yet been scheduled.
Hill was indicted last year on charges related to elderly abuse and fraud. Upon her suspension by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Rose won a special election to serve out the final year-plus of Hill’s term.
The charges have yet to be resolved and no trial has been set. Hill has a court hearing in January.