Dougherty, 2026 ESD 115
OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
) Protest Decision: 2026 ESD 115
IN RE: LINDSAY DOUGHERTY )
) Issued: July 22, 2026
Protestor. ) OES Case No. P-154-061526
)
BACKGROUND & ANALYSIS
Edward Gleason, Jr. filed a protest on behalf of Lindsay Dougherty, a candidate for Vice President at Large on the O’Brien Zuckerman Teamsters United 2026 Slate (“OZ Slate”) against Michael Sparks, a candidate for Western Region Vice President on the Fearless Slate for allegedly threatening and harassing her during the IBT Convention.
Joe Childers, representative of the Office of the Election Supervisor (“OES”) was assigned to investigate this protest.
The IBT Convention was held June 15-18, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This protest was filed on June 15th following Sparks’ alleged conduct on the Convention floor during the nomination process. The following day, the duly elected and certified delegates to the Convention cast their ballots for all contested offices. After the counting of the ballots, no candidate from the Fearless Slate gained at least 5% of the ballots cast by delegates, the threshold for appearing on the ballot for an International IBT election by IBT members. As a result, all candidates from the OZ Slate were deemed duly elected.[1]
Gleason subsequently notified the OES that, with the permission of Dougherty, he withdrew this protest. On July 20, 2026, Gleason confirmed in a letter submitted to the Election Supervisor that he withdrew this protest. We find that withdrawal furthers the purposes of the Rules and deemed this protest WITHDRAWN.
APPELLATE RIGHTS
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within two (2) working days of receipt of this decision. Any party requesting a hearing must comply with the requirements of Article XIII, Section 2(i). All parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely in any such appeal upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Supervisor. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing, shall specify the basis for the appeal, and shall be served upon:
Election Appeals Master
Barbara Jones
Election Appeals Master
IBTappealsmaster@bracewell.com
Copies of the request for hearing must be served upon the parties, as well as upon the Election Supervisor for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Service may be accomplished by email, using the “reply all” function on the email by which the party received this decision. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.
Timothy S. Hillman
Election Supervisor
cc: Barbara Jones, IBTappealsmaster@bracewell.com
2026 ESD 115
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE):
Edward M. Gleason, Jr.,
Linsday Dougherty
James Donovan
Michael Sparks
Richard Hooker
John Palmer
David Suetholz
Will Bloom
Ken Paff
Thomas Kokalas
Hon. Timothy S. Hillman (Ret.)
Paul Dever
Kelly Hogan
kelly.hogan@nelsonmullins.com[1] The results of the IBT Convention have not yet been certified as there are outstanding protests.