Lee Zeldin

Lee Zeldin (born January 30 1980) is the endorsed Republican candidate [http://www.zeldin08.com/pdffiles/Zeldin_endorsement_independent.pdf] seeking election to represent New York's 1st Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.

The 1st Congressional District encompasses most of Suffolk County on the eastern end of Long Island and comprises the towns of Brookhaven, East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, part of Smithtown, Southampton and Southold. Zeldin is looking to unseat three-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Timothy Bishop in the 2008 election.

Early life

Zeldin was born in East Meadow, New York and grew up in the town of Shirley, New York, where he resides today with his wife Diana and their two identical twin daughters, Mikayla and Arianna. Upon his graduation from William Floyd High School, he attended the University at Albany, where he earned a bachelors degree in political science. Shortly thereafter, Zeldin graduated with his juris doctorate from Albany Law School [http://www.zeldin08.com/about_lee_zeldin.html About - Lee Zeldin Candidate for the First Congressional District of New York ] ] .

Professional Career

Zeldin joined the Army R.O.T.C. while an undergraduate. In May 2003 he was commissioned as a Military Intelligence Second Lieutenant despite having a law degree. In September 2003, Zeldin attended Military Intelligence Officer Basic Course (MIOBC) at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. In March 2004, after completing MIOBC, Zeldin branch transferred from Military Intelligence to the Judge Advocate General's Corps and then attended Judge Advocate General's Officer Basic Course in order to practice as an Army attorney. During the summer of 2006, Zeldin served in Iraq as an Army attorney but returned home early due to the premature birth of his twin daughters. Zeldin did not return to Iraq and served on the rear detachment for the remainder of his unit's deployment. Zeldin is the recipient of the Iraq Campaign Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon. He left active duty in September 2007 as a Captain and joined the United States Army Reserves.

Zeldin is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and The American Legion [ [http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hrr/2008/01/22/Heading-Right-Radio-with-Ed-Morrissey Internet Radio, Citizen Broadcasting, Social Media Podcasts - Blog Talk Radio ] ] .Zeldin is a member of the New York State bar since January 2004 and had the unique distinction of being the youngest attorney in the state at that time. After serving as Counsel for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Zeldin joined the firm of Raiser & Kenniff, P.C.

Campaign History

On January 14, 2008, Lee Zeldin officially announced his candidacy for New York's 1st Congressional District seat in Amagansett, New York [ [http://weblogs.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/politics/blog/tim_bishop/ Spin Cycle: Tim Bishop Archives ] ] .

On May 22, 2008, Zeldin was unanimously endorsed by the Suffolk County Republican Party at the party's annual convention in Holtsville, New York. [ [http://www.zeldin08.com/press.php?op=job&jobid=179 Suffolk County GOP Nominates Lee Zeldin for First C.D. - Press Room - Lee Zeldin Candidate for the First Congressional District of New York ] ] However, despite being the GOP endorsed candidate, on July 17, 2008, Zeldin called for Harry Withers, chairman of the Suffolk County Republican Party, to resign one day after Withers forgot Zeldin's name at a fundraiser. [http://weblogs.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/politics/blog/2008/07/zeldin_calls_for_withers_to_re.html]

Issues

Zeldin has not publicly announced his views on social issues, [http://www.zeldin08.com/issues.html] but describes his religious beliefs as a mixture of Reform and Conservative Judaism. [ http://hamptons.com/detail.ihtml?id=4607] Zeldin interned for pro-life [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7DE113DF936A25753C1A966958260] [http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_detail.php?r_id=4089] New York State Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R, C) from 1998-2000 while he was a student at SUNY-Albany, [ http://hamptons.com/detail.ihtml?id=4607] which may indicate that Zeldin himself is pro-life. Zeldin also prosecuted soldiers who made homosexual pornography, a violation of military law, while serving as an Army attorney. [http://forums.madonnanation.com/index.php?act=ST&f=9&t=2580]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.zeldin08.com/ Lee Zeldin for Congress] , Official Campaign Website
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lee_zeldin/ Congresspedia Page]
* [http://www.youtube.com/user/LeeZeldinforCongress YouTube Page] ,
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeldin08/ Flickr Page] ,
* [http://www.myspace.com/leezeldin MySpace Page] ,