A candidate for president of the Education Association of Alexandria was informed via Zoom that he was disqualified from the race less than 12 hours before the union’s officer elections, and that there was “not time” to go through a democratic process, according to audio obtained by ALXnow.
On Wednesday night (May 20), ACPS middle school teacher David Paladin-Fernandez was informed of his disqualification from the union president race. Nearly all candidates running in the election were on the call. Andrea Hill, chair of the EAA Credentials/Election Committee, told the candidates she had conducted an investigation and that the union’s executive committee had voted to disqualify Paladin-Fernandez.
Hill also said she told the executive committee that Paladin-Fernandez should be allowed to defend himself against the allegations and that the process should be handled democratically, but was told by committee members that “there was not time” before the election.
Hill relayed the committee’s message to the candidates: “I understand that you want to do it the Democratic way, but there was not time.”
She added that no candidates except Paladin-Fernandez were informed of the allegations because she did not want to “air dirty laundry,” and that EAA’s bylaws “should” include a clause about informing candidates of alleged campaign violations.
In the meeting, which lasted more than an hour, candidates were informed that the union’s elections committee had investigated nine allegations of campaign violations and dismissed three. The executive committee found that Paladin-Fernandez and his supporters had posted election flyers in teachers’ lounges at Alexandria City High School and Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 IB School, distributed campaign literature in the ACHS parking lot after hours and used EAA’s name on his campaign Instagram account.
Paladin-Fernandez, who has been openly critical of EAA’s management, said he was denied due process and that EAA violated federal law by not allowing him to defend himself.
“I was denied my due process,” he told ALXnow. “I was never informed what the specific violations were against me until after the decision had been made to disqualify me from the ballot, and therefore I was not able to defend myself.”
One candidate said he was “aghast” at Hill’s statement that there was not enough time to follow a democratic process.
“We would have liked to have been able to respond to the allegations,” the candidate said.
On Sunday (May 17), union members were notified via email that the elections — originally scheduled from Monday (May 18) to Tuesday (May 19) — would be postponed to Thursday (May 21) and Friday (May 22).
“The Credentials/Elections Committee has received several formal complaints related to the violation of election campaign regulations,” Hill wrote in the Sunday email. “An investigation has been completed. However, the Credentials/Elections Committee needs additional time to recommend a remedy to the Executive Committee.”
The union operates out of a small office it rents at 2857 Duke Street and recently negotiated a one-year, $12.7 million collective bargaining agreement for ACPS staff.
Madeline Wingate-Alfonso, the current EAA vice president, is now the sole candidate running for president. A single allegation of violating campaign rules was also leveled against her — that she tore down a Responsive Union Now flier in a teachers’ lounge at Alexandria City High School — but was dismissed by the executive committee. Wingate-Alfonso is also a member of EAA’s executive committee but did not participate in the vote against Paladin-Fernandez, Hill said.
Tyron Barnes is running against Mary Gaddis for EAA vice president, and Howard van der Sluis is running against Diana Carvajal for EAA treasurer.
Barnes and van der Sluis ran on a slate with Paladin-Fernandez as part of their group, Responsive Union Now. In the meeting, Paladin-Fernandez said he campaigned in the parking lot after work hours alongside van der Sluis, and that all distributed campaign literature included photos of all three candidates. He also said the parking lot was public space and asked Hill why he was being singled out. Hill said no complaints had been made against Barnes and van der Sluis and asked whether he would have preferred his fellow candidates share the punishment.
Paladin-Fernandez says the action is part of a pattern of the organization operating without transparency. He lost the union presidency election to outgoing president Dawn Lucas in 2024 but said voting totals were never released. EAA never released those election totals to ALXnow, and Lucas did not respond to requests for comment.
In last year’s union election, Paladin-Fernandez said he was disqualified from being a union officer after taking a three-month unpaid leave of absence. During that absence, he did not pay union dues and was deemed ineligible, he said.
The Virginia Education Association and EAA did not respond to emails and texts from ALXnow.
EAA’s campaign regulations are:
These Campaign Regulations will be distributed by the EAA Credentials/Elections Committee to every EAA member who requests a petition form for an elected position. All candidates must acknowledge their receipt and understanding of these Campaign Regulations by signing the Campaign Regulations Agreement and submitting it to the Credentials/Elections Committee with their petitions.
REVENUE AND EXPENSES
Campaign Contributions
No money, resources, or staff of EAA, VEA, or an EAA or VEA political action committee (PAC), or of any other labor organization, shall be used to promote the candidacy of any individual running for EAA elected office. This restriction also prohibits the use of EAA or VEA’s official logos on candidate campaign materials.
ASSOCIATION RESOURCES AND ENDORSEMENTS
- No resources of EAA, VEA, or any VEA affiliate may be used to support any candidate
- EAA and VEA resources may be used only in a purely objective, nonpartisan, unbiased way to communicate information about all candidates
- EAA members may endorse a candidate so long as the endorsement decision is made in one’s individual capacity, and not in the capacity of any position held with Alexandria City Public Schools or EAA
- Candidates may refer to any endorsements in their own campaign materials
- Candidates may not solicit endorsements from individuals, entities, groups, unions, or any other sources outside of EAA
CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES
Campaign Communications
- Candidates may create print and digital materials in support of their candidacy, including, but not limited to, posters, brochures, biographical sketches, position papers, websites, and electronic communications. Candidates may also create campaign SWAG, for example, buttons, t-shirts, and stickers. On all such materials, candidates must disclose the source of the item and any sponsorship, unless the item is too small to include such information. If the item is too small for source and/or sponsorship information, candidates may distribute the item only from a table or booth where the source is clearly indicated, for example, on a nearby sign.
- Candidates may use photographs of EAA members on their campaign materials, but must receive written authorization from each individual pictured before doing so.
- Contact information for EAA members is a union resource and therefore cannot be shared directly with any candidate
- Candidates are prohibited from using member contact information to which they have access by virtue of any current leadership position
- The Credentials/Elections Committee will publish for every candidate a candidate statement or biography. Biographies cannot exceed 100 words and should include the ACPS job title, school name, and EAA or other local association experience. Biographies exceeding 100 words will be truncated to 100 words. If no biography is submitted, a statement indicating that no biography was submitted may be published in its place
- All campaign materials and communications must comply with the VEA Code of Member and Affiliate Professional Conduct
Union Logos Prohibited
- Use of the NEA, VEA, or EAA logo on any campaign literature or materials is prohibited by law
- Candidate websites cannot use the name or abbreviation for NEA, VEA, or EAA in their web address, unless the name minimizes possible confusion, such as “WashingtonforEAApresident.com”
- Candidate social media sites can use the name or abbreviation for NEA, VEA, or EAA in its title, but candidates must make clear that the site is a candidate page and not an official union page
- Candidates can wear, as any regular member might, an item(s) of clothing with the NEA, VEA, or EAA logo. However, candidates cannot wear or display a limited or custom-made item – one not available to all members – with the NEA, VEA, or EAA logo
Campaigning on Work Time or with Work Resources Prohibited
- Candidates who currently hold an elected union position may participate or engage in campaign activities, but must not do so during official NEA, VEA, or EAA functions. Candidates who currently hold an elected position and work full-time for EAA may not campaign during work time. They must campaign after hours or take leave
- Candidates who currently hold an elected position are prohibited from using NEA, VEA, or EAA funds or resources, including computers, phones, and email for the creation or distribution of their campaign materials or for any other campaign activity, except for those resources that are provided to all candidates
- Candidates who are currently employed by ACPS may not campaign during work time and may not use employer resources, including computers, phones, email, and any physical space that requires submission and approval of a use request. Candidates may campaign during break time, duty-free lunchtime, and outside work hours, including when on leave
- All candidates must use a personal computer and email when engaging in campaign activities
- Candidates are responsible for the conduct of those acting on their behalf (including those circulating petitions)
VIOLATIONS
- It is the responsibility of the Credentials/Elections Committee to enforce these regulations
- Any EAA member may raise a complaint alleging a violation of these Campaign Regulations. Complaints should be reported to the Credentials/Elections Committee as soon as possible, but in any event within ten (10) business days
- The Credentials/Elections Committee will promptly investigate the complaint, prepare a written report, and recommend a remedy, if any, to the Executive Committee
- The Executive Committee shall determine the appropriate remedy, if any, with the goal of providing all candidates with equal access to voters and equal opportunity to campaign
- If the complaint is raised and investigated after the polls have closed, the Credentials/Elections Committee shall report its findings to the Executive Committee and shall recommend to the Board of Directors whether the election should be set aside. The decision of the Board of Directors shall be final.
- Candidates who hold a seat on the Executive Committee or Board of Directors must recuse themselves from these complaint and investigative processes.
