Senator Lee M. Zeldin (R, C, I- Shirley) was elected to the State Senate in 2010.  Senator Zeldin is a Captain in the United States Army Reserves and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and The American Legion.

Senator Zeldin, an outspoken voice for protecting the taxpayers, has been very active so far in his first year.  Two weeks into his first term, Senator Zeldin already sponsored and passed his first Senate Bill; S.1919, which calls for a state Constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds “super majority” vote in both the Senate and the Assembly in order to increase any state taxes or fees.  Senator Zeldin, a long time outdoorsmen, worked aggressively to eliminate the Saltwater Fishing License Fee, a promise he made during his campaign, and successfully delivered on it in the 2011-12 State Budget.  Senator Zeldin has also been the leading charge for repealing the MTA Payroll Tax, a job killing tax that, in 2009,  was placed on every business, school, local government, nonprofit and hospital in Suffolk County and throughout the 12 county MTA region.

Senator Zeldin is also the sponsor of legislation to ban protests at Military Funerals (S.3901).  The legislation is named the “The Specialist Thomas Wilwerth Military Dignity Act” in honor of Specialist Thomas Wilwerth, an Iraq War Veteran who lost his life in combat in 2006. This legislation passed the Senate in March of 2011.

For the 2011-12 Session, Senator Zeldin serves as Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Consumer Protection.  He also serves on the following committees: Veterans, Military Affairs and Homeland Security, Higher Education, Transportation, Judiciary, Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Investigations and Government Operations, and Aging.

Senator Zeldin was raised in Shirley, New York, where he attended  and graduated from William Floyd High School. Then in just 5 short years, Senator Zeldin earned not only his bachelor's degree, cum laude, from the State University of New York at Albany, majoring in Political Science, but also his Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School.

When Senator Zeldin graduated law school on May 31, 2003, he received an Army ROTC commission as a Second Lieutenant, assigned to the Military Intelligence Corps of the United States Army. In July 2003, before reporting for duty, Senator Zeldin passed the New York State bar exam; and was sworn in to the New York State Bar, at just 23 years old, in January 2004 -- the youngest attorney in New York State, at that time.

In September 2003, Senator Zeldin reported for duty with the Military Intelligence Corps at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, on the Mexican border.

Senator Zeldin transitioned to the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, in March 2004, and shortly thereafter was re-assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Within months, Senator Zeldin had become a Federal Prosecutor and successfully prosecuted numerous cases.

In the summer of 2006, Senator Zeldin was deployed to Iraq, with an infantry battalion of fellow paratroopers, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and served on the front lines. Serving in Iraq further instilled in Senator Zeldin the value of teamwork and camaraderie.

Upon his return to the states, he was assigned to the 18th Airborne Corps, also located at Fort Bragg, where he gained valuable experience as a Military Magistrate.

In November 2008, Senator Zeldin was one of the most successful Republican challengers nationally for United States Congress, but unfortunately for his supporters, he fell short.

He resides in Shirley, a few blocks from his childhood home, with his wife Diana and their 4-year-old identical twin daughters, Mikayla and Arianna. Senator Zeldin enjoys piano and holds a black belt in Taekwondo. Aside from spending time with their children, Senator Zeldin and Diana enjoy fishing and boating together on the Great South Bay.