Pat Lynch, the President of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, announced on Tuesday, April 11th that he would be stepping down. Lynch, who has served as the PBA’s president for 24 years, announced that he would not be running for the presidency of the the trade union in the next election. Lynch recently led the PBA’s negotiations for increased remuneration for NYPD officers, which LittleAfrica News covered. The terms of the negotiations run until 2025. If Lynch were to run for the Presidency again, he would have to retire in 2026 at the age of 63, during a year when new terms would have to be agreed between NYPD officers and the city. He noted the likelihood of the negotiations being disrupted.
“Before the nomination process begins, I believe it is important for all PBA members to know that I will not be seeking re-election,” Lynch wrote in an email to PBA members.
“This decision is part of a philosophy I have long held: a rider cannot switch horses in the middle of a battle, and the PBA must not change leadership in the middle of a contract fight. As you know, the contract agreement we have just reached ends in 2025,” Lynch wrote. “If I were re-elected, our fight for the next contract would be in full swing when I age out of the NYPD in 2026, a fact that the City would seek to use to its advantage at the bargaining table.”
Lynch joined the NYPD in 1984. He became the president of PBA in 1999, a position that only members of the force can rise to. According to AM NY, Lynch earned three Exceptional Police Duty Awards as well as a single Exceptional Merit Citation for playing assisting two police officers that had been shot.
Lynch is the longest serving PBA president and leader of a major municipal trade union in New York City. Lynch’s sons have also joined the NYPD, showing the significance of the force to his family.
Elections for the PBA’s incoming president will take place in June, with the successful candidate assuming office on July 1st. According to the NY Post, Lynch is likely to be succeeded by current union treasurer Pat Hendry.
