Michael DeCillis

Michael DeCillis is the Democratic nominee in New York's 11th Congressional District. A Staten Island native, he has worked as a paramedic, New York City police officer, civil litigation attorney, legislative staffer in the State Assembly and special education teacher. He won the June 23 Democratic primary over Allison Ziogas; according to his campaign website, he is running to lower costs, protect Social Security and Medicare, strengthen public education and defend democratic institutions.[1][2][3]

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.[2][3][5] 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.[2] 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.[2] He was a first responder at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, treating injured firefighters.[2][3][5]

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.[2][3][5] 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.[1][2][5] 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.[2][3][5]

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first run for the seat: Ballotpedia lists him as a Democratic candidate who dropped out in March 2018 and as a withdrawn candidate in the 2022 Democratic primary.[1][4] In 2026 he won the June 23 Democratic primary.[1][4]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.