Melanie D'Arrigo

MELANIE D’ARRIGO

DEMOCRAT

BACKGROUND: D’Arrigo, 41, of Port Washington, is a health care advocate and community organizer. She helped found Be The Rainbow, a local nonprofit that advocates on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community. D’Arrigo helped establish a Nassau County chapter of Sunrise Movement, a national nonprofit organization focused on combating climate change. She also is a Nassau County delegate for the National Organization for Women and a representative for National Nurses United. She ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary in the 3rd Congressional District in 2020. D’Arrigo received a bachelor of arts degree from Barnard College in Manhattan and a masters of science degree from the School of Health Professions at Long Island University.

ISSUES: D’Arrigo said she is running because she is "tired of seeing our rights rolled back, our families struggling with debt and our planet destroyed.” She supports codifying abortion protections previously established under Roe v. Wade into law. She also backs passage of a Women’s Health Protection Act that would prohibit states from restricting access to abortion services. She is a proponent of "Medicare for All” legislation that would ensure the availability of health care services for every American. She touts a three-part “Mom Agenda” that calls for policies such as increased access to free and affordable child care and universal paid family leave that would provide mothers with up to six months of maternity leave and men up to eight weeks. She is involved with the nonprofit gun-safety group Moms Demand Action and supports a federal assault weapons ban, saying “weapons of war have no place in our communities.” She backs creation of a national licensing requirement to purchase and keep a firearm. D’Arrigo is a proponent of a two-percent wealth tax on individuals making over $50 million a year, and believes more policies need to be implemented to help small businesses grow.