A new team swept into power as Officer Craig Miller (pictured) trounced incumbent Louis Cavaliere Jr. 210 to 66 in an election for police union president.
The 420-member New Haven Police Union Elm City (which represents all cops except the chief and assistant chiefs) held the election Tuesday at 1 Union Ave.
The election also saw the election of a new union vice-president, David Guliuzza, who collected 151 votes against opponents Ryan McFarland (89) and Scott Shumway (34); and a new secretary, Officer David Totino, who ran unopposed.
Shafiq Abdussabur was reelected treasurer; he defeated opponent Rose Turney 172 – 105.
Richard Miller, Juan Monzon and Florencio Cotto were the three members elected to the Executive Board.
The polls closed at 7:30 p.m. It then took four hours to count the votes. Unlike in previous elections, police would not allow reporters to be present during the tallying or at the time of the announcement of the results, or to speak with any of the candidates. Results were announced at 11:30 p.m.
The changing of the guard injects a note of uncertainty into management-labor relations. The straight-talking Cavaliere had run the union local for the past three years, a time of controversy, and held top union posts before that. His father served as president of the union for 30 years before that, before retiring in 2011. (A non-Cavaliere, Officer Arpad Tolany, served as president for a year, then resigned mid-term.)
Earlier in the day, a visibly nervous Cavaliere said he knew he couldn’t count on reelection.
“A lot of people say, ‘I got your back.’ You don’t know what’s in people’s head,” Cavaliere said as Bob Seger’s “Hollywood Nights” played in the background.
Cavaliere blamed himself for the challenge. When he reached his 20th anniversary on the job in January, he told members he might retire and leave the department to work for University of New Haven’s police force.
“Part of the issue was my big mouth telling people I had [another] job — which I don’t,” Cavaliere said. “That’s part of my problem my whole life — I let it all out. I don’t have many secrets. I like to be up front with people.”
“I think people just assumed he was retiring,” agreed one veteran officer.
Like his father, Cavaliere has been outspoken on behalf of officers accused of wrongdoing, such as in this and this case. (Click on the video to watch Cavaliere leading a protest at City Hall over the decision to put on temporary desk duty an officer captured on video slamming a handcuffed 15-year-old girl to the sidewalk near the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.) He has been negotiating with the chiefs about whether, and how, to have officers wear body cams. (Click here to read about his concerns.) He also convinced the membership to approve a controversial contract that include some concessions on health care for newer cops.
Craig Miller (pictured), who served as union vice-president before Tuesday night’s victory, has been a patrol officer for 17 years. He has a reputation for both outspokenness and hard work. He was better known of the two candidates among younger patrol cops, many of whom opposed the most recent contract struck by Cavaliere. Miller got to know some of the new officers while field-training them.
“I’ve worked Newhallville for the first few years of my career. I’ve worked in narcotics. I’ve worked in Fair Haven. I worked in the statewide urban violence program. I’m also DUI-certified. I’ve done a lot of things here,” Miller said Wednesday morning.
Miller said Wednesday that he hadn’t expected to win by such a wide margin: “I thought it was going to be really close.”
As for his plans in his new post, Miller said, “I need to sit down with my board and see what direction we should take it in.”
Sgt. Richard Miller, who was reelected to the executive board, said this year’s vote count was the longest he could remember. All of this year’s positions (except secretary) were contested, but the presidency was not as close as one might have expected, he added.
Lt. Max Joyner votes Tuesday.
Totino, the incoming union secretary.