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Joseline Peña-Melnyk

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Joseline Peña-Melnyk
Image of Joseline Peña-Melnyk

Democratic Party

Maryland House of Delegates District 21
Tenure

2007 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

18

Prior offices
College Park City Council

Compensation

Base salary

$54,437/year

Per diem

$115/day for lodging. $63/day for meals

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Buffalo State College, 1987

Law

State University of New York, Buffalo School of Law, 1991

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

Joseline Peña-Melnyk (Democratic Party) is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 21. She assumed office on January 10, 2007. Her current term ends on January 13, 2027.

Peña-Melnyk (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Maryland House of Delegates to represent District 21. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Pena-Melnyk served on the College Park City Council from 2003-2006.

Pena-Melnyk was a 2016 Democratic candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 4th Congressional District of Maryland.[1] Pena-Melnyk was defeated by Anthony Brown in the primary.

Pena-Melnyk's professional experience includes working as ssistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia, and an Attorney with the Defender Association of Philadelphia.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Peña-Melnyk was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Peña-Melnyk was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Peña-Melnyk was assigned to the following committees:

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Pena-Melnyk served on the following committees:

Maryland committee assignments, 2015
• Health & Government Operations

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Pena-Melnyk served on these committees:

Note: Pena-Melnyk also served on the Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Subcommittee on Public Health and Long Term Care.

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Pena-Melnyk served on these committees:

Note: Pena-Melnyk also served on the Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Subcommittee on Public Health and Long Term Care.

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2022

See also: Maryland House of Delegates elections, 2022

General election

General election for Maryland House of Delegates District 21 (3 seats)

Incumbent Mary Lehman, incumbent Joseline Peña-Melnyk, and incumbent Ben Barnes won election in the general election for Maryland House of Delegates District 21 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Mary Lehman (D)
 
33.6
 
22,333
✔
Image of Joseline Peña-Melnyk
Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D)
 
32.9
 
21,821
✔
Image of Ben Barnes
Ben Barnes (D)
 
32.4
 
21,531
 Other/Write-in votes
 
1.1
 
720

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 66,405
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Maryland House of Delegates District 21 (3 seats)

Incumbent Joseline Peña-Melnyk, incumbent Mary Lehman, and incumbent Ben Barnes advanced from the Democratic primary for Maryland House of Delegates District 21 on July 19, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joseline Peña-Melnyk
Joseline Peña-Melnyk
 
33.7
 
9,502
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Mary Lehman
 
33.2
 
9,381
✔
Image of Ben Barnes
Ben Barnes
 
33.1
 
9,335

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 28,218
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2018

See also: Maryland House of Delegates elections, 2018

General election

General election for Maryland House of Delegates District 21 (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Maryland House of Delegates District 21 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Ben Barnes
Ben Barnes (D)
 
26.3
 
27,567
✔
Image of Joseline Peña-Melnyk
Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D)
 
25.7
 
26,889
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Mary Lehman (D)
 
25.6
 
26,809
Image of Richard Douglas
Richard Douglas (R)
 
8.1
 
8,519
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Chike Anyanwu (R)
 
7.9
 
8,313
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Ray Ranker (Unaffiliated)
 
6.2
 
6,472
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
234

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 104,803
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Maryland House of Delegates District 21 (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Maryland House of Delegates District 21 on June 26, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joseline Peña-Melnyk
Joseline Peña-Melnyk
 
30.0
 
8,770
✔
Image of Ben Barnes
Ben Barnes
 
25.5
 
7,449
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Mary Lehman
 
18.9
 
5,538
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Matt Dernoga
 
18.2
 
5,316
Image of Brencis Smith
Brencis Smith
 
4.0
 
1,169
Image of James McDowell Jr.
James McDowell Jr.
 
3.5
 
1,027

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 29,269
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Maryland House of Delegates District 21 (3 seats)

Richard Douglas and Chike Anyanwu advanced from the Republican primary for Maryland House of Delegates District 21 on June 26, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Richard Douglas
Richard Douglas
 
53.9
 
1,492
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Chike Anyanwu
 
46.1
 
1,274

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 2,766
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

  • Prince George's County Educators' Association[2]

2016

See also: Maryland's 4th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. In Maryland's 4th Congressional District, incumbent Donna Edwards (D) chose not to run for re-election in 2016, instead choosing to pursue election to the U.S. Senate. Anthony Brown (D) defeated George McDermott (R), Benjamin Lee Krause (L), Kamesha Clark (G), and Adrian Petrus (D, write-in) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Brown defeated Warren Christopher, Matthew Fogg, Glenn Ivey, Joseline Pena-Melnyk, and Terence Strait in the Democratic primary, while McDermott defeated Robert Broadus, Rob Buck, and David Therrien to win the Republican nomination. The primary elections took place on April 26, 2016. [3][4]

U.S. House, Maryland District 4 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAnthony Brown 74.1% 237,501
     Republican George McDermott 21.4% 68,670
     Green Kamesha Clark 2.6% 8,204
     Libertarian Benjamin Lee Krause 1.8% 5,744
     N/A Write-in 0.2% 531
Total Votes 320,650
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections


U.S. House, Maryland District 4 Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngAnthony Brown 41.6% 47,678
Glenn Ivey 34% 38,966
Joseline Pena-Melnyk 19% 21,724
Warren Christopher 3.5% 3,973
Matthew Fogg 1.3% 1,437
Terence Strait 0.7% 845
Total Votes 114,623
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections
U.S. House, Maryland District 4 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngGeorge McDermott 45.8% 10,882
David Therrien 26.2% 6,219
Robert Broadus 16.7% 3,977
Rob Buck 11.4% 2,703
Total Votes 23,781
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

2014

See also: Maryland House of Delegates elections, 2014

Elections for the Maryland House of Delegates took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 24, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 25, 2014. Incumbents Ben Barnes, Barbara A. Frush and Joseline Pena-Melnyk were unopposed in the Democratic primary. Katherine Butcher was unopposed in the Republican primary. Barnes, Frush and Pena-Melnyk defeated Butcher for three seats in the general election.[5][6][7]

Maryland House of Delegates District 21, General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBarbara Frush Incumbent 28.9% 18,157
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBen Barnes Incumbent 27.4% 17,235
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJoseline Pena-Melnyk Incumbent 26.8% 16,880
     Republican Katherine Butcher 16.9% 10,610
Total Votes 62,882

2010

See also: Maryland House of Delegates elections, 2010

Pena-Melnyk successfully won re-election in the general election on November 2, 2010. She won the third of three available seats.[8]

Maryland House of Delegates, District 21 General Election (2010)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Ben Barnes (D) 18,954
Green check mark transparent.png Barbara Frush (D) 18,689
Green check mark transparent.png Joseline Pena-Melnyk (D) 18,457
Scott Dibiasio (R) 6,131
Jason Papanikolas (R) 6,013
Kat Nelson (R) 5,822
K. Bryan Walker (L) 1,151

2006

On November 7, 2006, Joseline Pena-Melnyk ran for District 21 of the Maryland House of Delegates, winning the third of three seats, losing to Ben Barnes and Barbara Frush but beating Niel Sood.[9]

Joseline Pena-Melnyk raised $83,185 for her campaign.[10]

Maryland House of Delegates, District 21
Candidates Votes Percent
Ben Barnes (D) 18,453 29.6%
Barbara Frush (D) 18,279 29.3%
Joseline Pena-Melnyk (D) 18,001 28.9%
Neil Sood (R) 7,349 11.8%
Write-Ins 206 0.3%

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joseline Peña-Melnyk did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

The following issues were listed on Pena-Melnyk's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.

“
  • Schools and Education: Our children deserve our commitment to quality education. I want our children to reach farther and keep America competitive in a global economy. We do that by supporting our kids with good schools, colleges and universities, and we make that education achievable without putting a mountain of student debt on their backs. That’s why I support President Obama’s efforts to make higher education more affordable.
  • Jobs and the Economy: America’s middle class is shrinking. It is harder now to find the solid manufacturing and union jobs that pay living wages. A nation of haves and have-nots is not the kind of nation we Democrats and progressive-minded people should accept. I voted to increase Maryland’s minimum wage and I support increasing the Federal minimum wage. I will work to expand opportunities for minority businesses and promote successful training programs that lead to jobs in growing fields in the private and public sectors.
  • Health: Having affordable health care for my family gives me peace of mind and financial security against crippling health care bills. As a legislator I fought to control health insurance premiums, to increase access to Medicare, and for greater Medicaid funding. President Obama’s Affordable Care Act helped us reduce the number of uninsured Marylanders by tens of thousands. I will protect his achievement from Republican attacks.
  • The Environment: A healthy environment provides us, and future generations, with many valuable services such as flood control, clean air and water, and even bees that pollinate plants and make agriculture productive. It is just common sense to protect our environment against pollution, the pressures of over-development, and commercial excesses.
  • Public Safety and Gun Control: Everyone deserves to live in a safe community, free of fear of violent crime. We all should feel free to walk about without fear of the police too. When police abuse their authority it offends all our civil rights and lessens public safety by undermining the trust needed for effective policing.

[11]

”
—Joseline Pena-Melnyk's campaign website, http://joselinepenamelnyk.com/?page_id=58

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Joseline Peña-Melnyk campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2022Maryland House of Delegates District 21Won general$317,539 $133,767
2018Maryland House of Delegates District 21Won general$78,731 N/A**
2016U.S. House - Maryland District 4Lost $1,118,343 N/A**
2014Maryland House of Delegates, District 21Won $52,452 N/A**
2010Maryland House of Delegates, District 21Won $75,065 N/A**
2006Maryland House of Delegates, District 21Won $83,184 N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Maryland

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Maryland scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2024


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Pena-Melnyk is Vice-Chair of the Law Enforcement and State-Appointed Boards Committee for Prince George's County Delegation, and a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, and Task Force on Healthcare Access and Reimbursement.[12]

See also

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External links

Candidate

Maryland House of Delegates District 21
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    Officeholder

    Maryland House of Delegates District 21
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Daily Journal, "Ingrid Turner set to announce bid for 4th District Congressional seat Tuesday," March 17, 2015
    2. ↑ Prince George's County Educators' Association, "2018 PGCEA-Endorsed Candidates," accessed May 25, 2018
    3. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "2016 Presidential Primary Election State Candidates List," accessed February 5, 2016
    4. ↑ The New York Times, "Maryland Primary Results," April 26, 2016
    5. ↑ Maryland Secretary of State, "Official primary election candidate list," accessed March 3, 2014
    6. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates," accessed December 5, 2014
    7. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "2014 Official General Election Results," accessed April 30, 2015
    8. ↑ Maryland Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed March 4, 2014
    9. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2006 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates," accessed March 24, 2014
    10. ↑ Follow the Money, "Pena-Melnyk's 2006 campaign contributions," accessed March 25, 2014
    11. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    12. ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Pena-Melnyk's Biography," accessed March 25, 2014


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