Michael DeCillis

DeCillis describes himself as a fourth-generation Staten Islander and third-generation union member whose grandparents and parents were educators, city workers and union members; the Staten Island Advance reports that he now lives in Bay Ridge, and BK Reader says he has lived there for 14 years.[3][4][6] According to his campaign website, he volunteered as a teenager at the hospital where he was born, now Richmond University Medical Center, and became a volunteer EMT in college, and he graduated from Kalamazoo College.[3] He worked as a SWAT paramedic and field training officer in Michigan, where, per his campaign, he created the state's first K-9 unit pre-hospital emergency care program.[3] He was a first responder at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, treating injured firefighters.[3][4][6]

DeCillis then served about a decade as an NYPD officer and, while working full-time, earned a Juris Doctorate from New York Law School; he went on to work as a civil litigation attorney.[3][4][6] He later served as Chief of Staff and Director of Legislation for a member of the New York State Assembly, working on transparency measures and conditions for NYCHA residents, and as assistant counsel for the New York City Districting Commission; Ballotpedia and his campaign describe the Assembly job as a staff role, not an elected office.[2][3][6] He completed an AmeriCorps Teaching Fellowship and a Master's in Education at Hunter College, then taught special education in New York City District 75 schools, including students on the autism spectrum.[3][4][6]

This is not DeCillis's first run for the seat: Ballotpedia lists him as a Democratic candidate who dropped out in March 2018 and as a withdrawn candidate in the 2022 Democratic primary.[2][7] In 2026 he won the June 23 Democratic primary.[2][7] During the campaign, according to his campaign website, he said he was running to lower costs, protect Social Security and Medicare, strengthen public education and defend democratic institutions.[3] He received 43.8% of the vote to Nicole Malliotakis's 56.1%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]