Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed Cocoa attorney Jonathan Templeton to the Brevard County Court Group 8 seat while a lawsuit challenging the cancellation of its 2026 election remains pending. A final hearing on the plaintiffs’ declaratory judgment claim is scheduled for November 30.
The appointment is documented in an October 14, 2026, letter to Templeton. “It is my pleasure to appoint you to the Brevard County Court,” DeSantis wrote. The letter says Templeton must file qualifying papers from the Florida Department of State before assuming office.
If the appointment stands, the seat would next be scheduled for election in 2028 under Florida’s constitutional rules for filling judicial vacancies.
Selected From Six Nominees
The Eighteenth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission interviewed applicants and submitted six names to the Governor on September 23. Along with Templeton, the nominees were Suzanne Bentley, Kerri Fowler, Trang Goebel, Joel Goldfarb and Angela Sturm.
The commission’s letter, signed by Andrew B. Pickett and addressed to the Governor’s General Counsel, David Axelman, described the opening as “the vacancy created by the retirement of County Judge Benjamin Garagozlo.”
That wording echoes the distinction at the center of the lawsuit: Garagozlo called his departure a retirement, while DeSantis accepted it as a resignation.
Who Is Jonathan Templeton?
Florida Bar records identify him as Jonathan Ryan Templeton, a member in good standing who was admitted to practice on October 2, 2014. The Bar lists his law school as Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law, class of 2014.
His profile lists Templeton Law P.A. in Cocoa Village as his firm and his position as partner/shareholder. The Bar reports no discipline history in the past 10 years.
According to his firm’s biography, Templeton worked as judicial assistant to Judge David Silverman while attending law school and later served as a prosecutor in the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit.
The Retirement Letter That Took the Seat Off the Ballot
Garagozlo’s term ends January 5, 2027. On April 15, 2026, he wrote to Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Muniz announcing that he would retire effective December 31, five calendar days before his term expired.
As The Space Coast Rocket previously reported, the letter used the word “retire,” did not use “resign” and was not addressed to the Governor.
Two days later, the circuit’s Chief of Personnel Services, April Copp, forwarded the letter to the Governor’s office under a subject line identifying it as a retirement letter. That afternoon, DeSantis accepted Garagozlo’s “resignation.”
The Brevard County Supervisor of Elections removed the race and its two announced candidates from the 2026 candidate listing, saying the Governor would fill the seat by appointment. Those candidates were Margaret “Maggie” Wagner and Andrea Fant.
Wagner attempted to qualify on April 23. According to her petition, the elections office would not accept her qualifying payment because the seat was no longer up for election, although it offered to accept and hold her documents.
Eighteenth Circuit spokesperson Michelle Kennedy later said Garagozlo was shocked to learn that his letter had initiated the appointment process and had not intended that result.
A Candidate’s Claim and a Voter’s Claim
Wagner and Brevard voter Marcelle “Marcie” Adkins filed an emergency petition in the Florida Supreme Court against DeSantis and state and local election officials. They are represented by attorney Jessica Travis of DefendBrevard.com.
Adkins is challenging the loss of her opportunity to vote for the county judge. The original petition separately addresses her voting rights and Wagner’s opportunity to run, seeking relief that would allow both the candidacy and the election to proceed.
In an October 6 filing, the plaintiffs clarified that they do not argue retirement can never amount to resignation. Their argument is that Garagozlo never tendered a resignation to the Governor and that forwarding his retirement notice did not create the vacancy needed to replace the election with an appointment.
The Supreme Court transferred the case to Leon County Circuit Court, where it was assigned Case No. 2026-CA-000862. Circuit Judge Joshua Hawkes denied the plaintiffs’ earlier requests for writs and an injunction, while their declaratory judgment claim proceeded.
Judge Rejected a Pause, Kept the November Hearing
On September 18, the plaintiffs renewed their request to prohibit an appointment until the declaratory judgment claim was resolved. In their September 23 response, attorneys for DeSantis and state election officials argued that the plaintiffs could challenge an allegedly unlawful appointment afterward through a quo warranto proceeding.
Travis disputed the adequacy of that remedy in the October 6 reply: “It would require a second lawsuit to undo a harm a stay would prevent.”
Hawkes denied the renewed request on October 7, finding that the plaintiffs had not demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success or irreparable harm. He said their retirement-versus-resignation distinction was insufficient at that stage under binding precedent governing vacancies arising before qualifying begins.
The same order expressly kept the merits of the declaratory judgment claim set for November 30. It also said a completed appointment alleged to exceed constitutional authority could face a timely quo warranto challenge, and discussed removal of an appointee and a special election if the plaintiffs prevail. The order did not direct either remedy.
The circuit docket reviewed October 16 lists the case as open and the November 30 hearing for 9 a.m. No order dismissing the declaratory judgment claim as moot appears on the docket.
Garagozlo Ordered to Answer Limited Questions Under Oath
Hawkes had blocked Garagozlo’s scheduled deposition in June. In a separate October 7 order, however, he authorized a deposition by written questions limited to the current status of the judge’s retirement.
The order allows questions about whether Garagozlo filed retirement paperwork, expects retirement benefits beginning in January 2027, or has steps left to complete his retirement package. It continues to bar questions about his intent and requires answers under oath within 14 days of service, subject to permitted objections.
On October 14, the same date as Templeton’s appointment letter, the plaintiffs filed notice that they had served 18 written questions on Garagozlo’s attorneys.
The Next Scheduled Election Would Be in 2028
DeSantis has now named Garagozlo’s intended successor. The appointment letter does not specify Templeton’s start date, and Garagozlo’s announced retirement remains effective December 31.
Under Article V, Section 11(b) of the Florida Constitution, the timing of the October appointment points to an election in 2028 and an appointed term ending January 2, 2029. If the appointment stands, the seat originally scheduled for election in 2026 would instead be filled by the Governor’s choice until that term ends.
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