# Elijah Reichlin-Melnick

Elijah Reichlin-Melnick is an American politician who served as a member of the New York State Senate for the 38th district, which at the time included most of Rockland County and parts of Westchester County. He succeeded David Carlucci and was defeated by Bill Weber (New York politician) in 2022 and again in 2024.

## Early life and education

Reichlin-Melnick was born and raised in Nyack, New York. He attended Nyack High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Cornell University in 2006. He later earned a master's degree in city and regional planning, with a concentration in housing and real estate, from Rutgers University in 2015.

## Career
### Early career

After receiving his bachelor's degree, he spent two years as an elementary school teacher at Dwight Elementary School in New Haven, Connecticut. He later served on the Nyack Village Planning Board and was elected vice president of the Rockland County Young Democrats and chairman of the Nyack Democratic Committee. He was an active member of the Nyack NAACP and the Nyack Tree Committee. After leaving Dwight Elementary School, Reichlin-Melnick began working as a constituent service specialist and district representative for Congressman Eliot Engel and Congresswoman Nita Lowey until 2013. After working in Congress, Reichlin-Melnick completed his master's degree, he worked as the executive assistant for Orangetown, New York Town Supervisor Andy Stewart. He later worked as the legislative director for New York State Senator James Skoufis.

### Nyack Village Board

In April 2017, Reichlin-Melnick was appointed to the Nyack Village Board to fill a vacancy left by Doug Foster. On November 7, 2017, Reichlin-Melnick was elected to a two-year term on the Village Board and was subsequently re-elected on November 3, 2019.

### New York State Senate

On December 17, 2019, Reichlin-Melnick announced his candidacy for district 38 in the New York State Senate. On June 23, 2020, Reichlin-Melnick defeated Clarkstown Town Clerk Justin Sweet and Spring Valley Trustee Eudson Francois in the Democratic primary election. On November 3, 2020, he defeated Republican nominee Bill Weber. During his term in the Senate, Reichlin-Melnick introduced and passed 90 bills, which was more than any of his freshman colleagues. Among the legislation he introduced and passed were bills to keep kids safe from gun violence at school, protect them from lead exposure, and require insurance companies to provide funding for crucial “early intervention” services for children. He also restored oversight of state contracts worth billions of dollars, and provided a 10% property tax credit for volunteer fire and EMS workers. In 2022, the 38th district changed from redistricting to no longer include parts of Westchester, and was made up of five towns in Rockland County. On November 8, 2022, Weber narrowly defeated Reichlin-Melnick in a rematch. Reichlin-Melnick and Weber faced off for a third time in 2024, and on November 5, 2024, Weber again defeated Reichlin-Melnick.

## Election history

2020 New York State Senate election, District 38 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Elijah Reichlin-Melnick | 12,542 | 45.6 |
| | Democratic | Justin Sweet | 10,042 | 36.5 |
| | Democratic | Eudson Francois | 4,902 | 17.8 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 27,486 | 100.0 |
2020 New York's 38th State Senate district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Elijah Reichlin-Melnick | 65,707 | 49.87 |
| | Working Families | Elijah Reichlin-Melnick | 5,102 | 3.87 |
| | Total | Elijah Reichlin-Melnick | 70,809 | 53.74 |
| | Republican | William Weber Jr. | 59,654 | 45.27 |
| | SAM | William Weber Jr. | 1,301 | 0.99 |
| | Total | William Weber Jr. | 60,955 | 46.26 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 131,764 | 90.91 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 13,172 | 9.09 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 144,936 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

## Personal life

Reichlin-Melnick's brother, Aaron, is an immigration policy expert and senior fellow at the American Immigration Council.