Debbie Galvin faces lawsuit for lying on candidate oath

Winter Park attorney Bonnie Jackson Friday filed a lawsuit against Debbie Galvin of Windermere and the Orange County Canvassing Board in the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court. The lawsuit contests Galvin’s re-election as Orange County Republican State Committeewoman in the Aug. 20 primary and seeks her disqualification from office because she “filed a false and fraudulent Candidate Oath…”

Jackson is represented by Orlando attorney Mark C. Bender.

Orange County State Committeewoman and State Committeeman are Republican Party positions, elected by voters every four years during a presidential primary. Committeewomen/men are responsible for registering Republican voters and representing Orange County Republicans to leaders at the state level.

Return to sender 

Jackson, who was also a candidate for State Committeewoman, claims that Galvin is ineligible to hold office because she lied about her legal address on her notarized Candidate Oath, first reported by VoxPopuli. 

Falsely swearing or affirming an oath in connection with voting or elections is a third degree felony, according to Florida Statute 104.001(1), punishable by five years in prison or a $5,000 fine.

“A felony is a really big deal,” Jackson told VoxPopuli in a Saturday phone call. “You know, it's a felony for a reason. It’s to say, Don't do this, you know? I'm a proud Republican, and I expect the Republican Party to walk the talk. If you believe in election integrity, well, then, you got to keep your own house clean.”

Jackson included two exhibits in her lawsuit: Exhibit A is Galvin’s Candidate Oath, dated May 28, 2024, in which she listed her address as the Isleworth home at 6126 Payne Stewart Drive. Exhibit B is an affidavit, sworn out by the current resident of 6126 Payne Stewart Drive, which states that she moved in on May 15, 2024 — 13 days before Galvin filed her candidate qualifying paperwork — and lives alone. 

The resident told VoxPopuli that she wrote the affidavit July 19, 2024 because she continues to receive mail for Galvin. [The resident asked us not to use her name out of concern about election-related violence.] Jackson told VoxPopuli that she and her lawyer also have letters regarding committee business, sent regular and certified mail by the Orange GOP to 6126 Payne Stewart Drive. They were returned by the U.S. Postal Service, marked, “Return to Sender.” The letter writer is on their witness list.

VoxPopuli also spoke with Christopher Murvin, an attorney now living in Deland who owned the house from 1999 to 2019. He said Galvin lived there with him, but “hasn’t lived there for over six years.” The house has had two owners since Murvin sold it in 2019 and it’s now owned by David and Regina Gilinsky, Miami tax attorneys who maintain it as an investment property, according to the current resident. 

Galvin’s driver’s license record, obtained by VoxPopuli, shows a residential address of 9251 Palm Tree Drive in Windermere and a mailing address of PO Box 3387, also in Windermere. Her 2018 Mercedes sedan is registered to the Palm Tree Drive address. 

In 2022, when Galvin donated $250 to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2022 re-election campaign, she listed 700 Maguire Park Street in Ocoee as her legal address. That address is also listed on three traffic citations from 2020.

“I just don't know how she's going to get around admitting that she falsified her Candidate Oath,” Jackson said. 

Galvin's cell phone is not accepting messages, and she has not responded to a text message request for comment. 

Not their purview

The Orange County Canvassing Board is also named in the lawsuit, but Supervisor of Elections spokesperson Christopher Heath told VoxPopuli that it’s not the board’s function to investigate candidates. 

“The board's main responsibilities are to certify the voting equipment, verify the accuracy and validity of all votes cast, and submit the official returns to the Department of State after the election,” he said in an email.” He added that investigations of elections and candidates are the purview of the Florida Division of Elections and the Florida Elections Commission. 

Asked a formal complaint had been made, Donna Ann Malphurs, the public information officer with the Florida Elections Commission said by email that she couldn’t answer VoxPopuli’s questions. “Pursuant to Section 106.25(7), Florida Statutes, the Florida Elections Commission can neither admit nor deny the existence of a confidential complaint, until after a probable cause determination.”