David Paladin-Fernandez was elected the president of the Alexandria teachers union in a recent runoff election, the Virginia Education Association announced Tuesday (July 21).
Paladin-Fernandez won the runoff with 217 votes against 196 votes cast for his opponent, Christina Bohringer. The news comes two months after Paladin-Fernandez was disqualified from running in the Education Association of Alexandria’s officer elections for alleged campaign violations.
VEA later invalidated the results of EAA’s May elections to ensure its Alexandria affiliate “complied with the legal requirements established under the federal Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.” That opened the floor for new candidates and new elections supervised by VEA on June 29 and 30.
In the June contest, Paladin-Fernandez received 47% of the votes tallied against 29% for Bohringer and 24% for Madeline Wingate-Alfonso. The teachers union president race then went into a runoff, which was held on July 20 and 21.
“We are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work,” Paladin-Fernandez said in a statement. “We look forward to collaborating constructively with everyone in the school system. By working together in good faith, we can transform ACPS into the premier school division in our region. One where educators are valued and students thrive.”
Tyron Barnes won the vice presidential race with 250 votes (63%) against Eric Payne with 147 votes (37%), and Howard Vandersluis won the treasurer’s race with 244 votes (62%) against Diana Carvajal with 150 votes (38%). Former EAA President Dawn Lucas also ran for an uncontested seat for EAA board secretary.
Paladin-Fernandez ran on a slate with Barnes and Vandersluis as part of their group, Responsive Union Now. He says that the union will now transition into an era of increased visibility and accountability and focus on a renegotiated collective bargaining agreement. The union, which runs out of a small office at 2857 Duke Street, recently negotiated a one-year, $12.7 million collective bargaining agreement for ACPS staff, but ACPS and the union must renegotiate after City Council’s budget did not fully fund the agreement.
“Being critical of the district isn’t about being negative,” Paladin-Fernandez said. “It’s about holding our institution to the highest standard so that ACPS can become the best version of itself.”
