Sgt. Louis Cavaliere is ceding his seat to Officer Arpad Tolnay after three decades, but New Haven’s legendary union president isn’t leaving the bargaining table yet.
After winning election in a landslide Thursday, 42-year-old Tolnay (pictured) is set to take over next week as president of AFSCME Council 15 Local 530, the city police union.
With 224 votes, Tolnay emerged the clear winner in a four-way race for president. Sgt. Anthony Zona won 75 votes; Officer Mitchell Berger won 44, and Officer Dave Coppola earned 7.
The union also chose Richard Miller as vice president, Lloyd Barrett as secretary, Dino Rasile as treasurer, and Louis Cavaliere, Jr., Craig Miller and Frank Canace as executive board members.
Tolnay will replace Cavaliere (center left in photo), who’s retiring at age 65 after running the union for three decades.
Cavaliere said he plans to hand over the reins next Wednesday, a day before he retires. But he’s not done with union business: Cavaliere will stay on for one year as an official union consultant, according to a contract approved by the union in April. That means he’ll remain a key player as the union heads into the most difficult contract negotiation in recent memory.
“I’ll definitely have an active part in negotiations,” Cavaliere said Thursday.
Cavaliere has been in the spotlight recently as he led a no-confidence vote against the police chief and clashed with City Hall over the layoffs of 16 patrol officers. At the other end, some officers have pushed him to take a stronger stand as City Hall seeks givebacks on pensions and health care to deal with a budget crisis.
Tolnay can stake the biggest anti-City Hall claim of any of the candidates: He won a $1.5 million settlement from the City of New Haven stemming from a 2002 incident in which Tolnay arrested two politically connected Fair Haven ministers on a church Sunday over a noise complaint.
On Thursday, he declined to take a specific stance on the givebacks Mayor John DeStefano is seeking. He said it’s too early in the process: The union contract doesn’t expire until June 30, and formal negotiations have not yet begun.
When he does move forward with negotiations, he’ll be relying on Cavaliere, who has decades of experience at the table, as a resource.
“There is no greater asset than to have Lou Cavaliere as an adviser,” Tolnay said Thursday, standing in police headquarters after the vote.
As he stood near the soda machines in the second floor lounge Thursday night, Tolnay fielded a congratulatory call from city labor relations director Craig Manemeit.
“I’ve got big shoes [to fill], but they’re going to be standing next to me for a little bit,” Tolnay told Manemeit.
“I’m looking forward to making you lose a lot of sleep,” Tolnay added with a smile.
Tolnay made the comment in a tone that bore no bitterness. The officer, who’s been on the force for over 12 years, has a mild manner of speech that contrasts sharply with Cavaliere’s sometimes abrasive remarks.
Tolnay kept his cool Thursday as he joked and chatted with opposing parties in the police department lounge.
Voting took place from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday in the gym at police headquarters. Candidates sat or stood at the entrance to the hallway throughout the day. At 7 p.m., election chair Sgt. Ricky Rodriguez announced an end to the voting. Three-hundred and fifty police came out to vote, he announced.
“That’s a lot!” remarked Cavaliere, who stood by to watch the proceedings. Well over three-quarters of the police force placed secret ballots in a box. Union elections typically get only 280 to 290 votes, Cavaliere said. This election was rare in the number of people running — all the seats except vice-president were contested, and a whopping 14 people ran for three spots on the executive board.
Rodriguez (pictured) gave the ballot box a bear hug and carried it through the hall, down the elevator, and to a first-floor conference room, where he was joined by the rest of the elections officials.
For two and a half hours, interested parties hung around the lounge and police lobby, waiting for the count.
Tolnay took his two daughters, ages 12 and 14, to the union office to do their homework. Cavaliere brewed fresh coffee and offered it to the half-dozen cops in the lounge.
Then the two sat together at a round cafeteria table, chatting about their motorcycles. Cavaliere, of West Haven, and Tolnay, of Shelton, both own Harley Street Glides. Tolnay razzed Cavaliere for not riding his more.
Zona, who was Cavaliere’s pick for president and had already served on the union board for eight years, took down campaign flyers from a bulletin board.
Some cops dug into pizza from Marco Polo; others slipped into a back room to watch American Idol, letting out a cry when James Durbin was eliminated.
At 8:35, Lou Cavaliere, Sr. got a text message. “They need me for a consult,” he announced.
“The calmness that I felt all day has left,” Tolnay remarked quietly a few minutes later. He went out to the balcony for a cigarette.
Lou Cavaliere, Jr., got a boisterous welcome when he stepped off elevator as the night wore on. He has been out on injury for nearly a year and a half. He said he would have run this year to replace his dad, but he feels a union president should be active on the job.
At 9:35, the elevator opened again. This time it was his father, announcing the count complete.
Rodriguez followed suit moments later and read the winners from two white pieces of paper.
From left: Frank Lombardi, Cavaliere Sr and Jr, Anne Massaro, Richard Miller.
He passed out copies, prompting a flurry of phone calls.
Zona congratulated Tolnay and Cavaliere, Jr.
“You guys got a lot of work ahead of you,” Zona told Cavaliere, Jr.
“No shit,” Cavaliere, Jr. responded.
While his eight years on Local 530’s executive board are ending, Zona remains president of the parent union, AFSCME Council 15. That council represents around 4,200 cops from 62 municipalities, including New Haven, Bridgeport and Waterbury.
Cavaliere, Sr. said he thought the race for the presidency would have been closer, but “the will of the people wanted Arpad. That’s the facts of life.”
Melissa Bailey Photo
Tolnay (left) shows Frank Lombardi a congratulations card from his daughter.
For his part, Tolnay got a special congrats in the form of a card from one of his daughters.
“Congrats! I knew you could do it! I (heart) you,” the card reads.
“All I can do is hope to live up to doing for the union what [former Vice President] Frank Lombardi and Lou Cavaliere did,” Tolnay said.
He declined to predict how his tenure might differ from Cavaliere’s legacy. “I’ll look to my board, and to the membership for their ideas and opinions,” he said, to formulate a strategy going forward.
Tolnay said during the campaign, he made only one promise: “To stay loyal to our union, and to do the very best that I can.”
Congrats to the winners! Especially ARP!!