Lee Zeldin for Congress - Fundraiser in Noyack, Long Island, New York

It was raining cats and dogs as I drove to the south fork of Long Island to attend a special fund raising event for Lee Zeldin, who is running for the 1^st New York District of the United States Congress against incumbent Tim Bishop.  All I had was an address but with direction signs placed along the way, finding the event was easy.  Once I got there the rain stopped (for a while) and arriving early I managed to get close parking so I doffed my raincoat and took my umbrella to the large tent set up for the event.

Unfortunately, the rain did prevent the special guest, Rudy Giuliani from attending as he had spent the previous day at the first presidential debate and the weather had delayed his plane until long after the event was over.  Still there were plenty of other speakers and a number of other people running for various positions at the state and local level to lend their support to Lee Zeldin.  Lee's grandparents and wife were also in attendance.  (And I managed to get a McCain/Palin T-Shirt.)

Since I was there to listen to people I didn't bring my camera from the car.  (When you are wearing a suit and a bow tie a camera strap isn't the best fashion accessory.)  I did manage to get a couple of photos on my cell phone before the event began.

About Lee Zeldin (Visit his web page):

Lee Zeldin is a Captain in the United States Army Reserves and is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and The American Legion. He recently left his position as Counsel for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, in order to practice law at Raiser & Kenniff, P.C. and devote most of his time to his run for the United States Congress.

Lee Zeldin was born in 1980 in East Meadow, New York and raised in Shirley, New York, where he attended William Floyd High School. In just 5 short years, Lee 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.

The day of Lee's graduation from 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, Lee passed the New York State bar exam; he 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, Lee reported for duty with the Military Intelligence Corps at Fort Huachuca, Arizona - on the Mexican border - where he saw first hand the workings of our Border Patrol Agents. During that time, Lee developed a strong position on immigration issues, which are currently under debate in our community.

Lee 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, Lee had become a Federal Prosecutor and successfully prosecuted numerous cases.

In the summer of 2006, Lee 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 Lee 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.

He resides in Shirley, a few blocks from his childhood home, with his wife Diana and their 2-year-old identical twin daughters, Mikayla and Arianna. Lee enjoys piano and holds a black belt in Taekwondo. Aside from spending time with their children, Lee and Diana enjoy fishing and boating together on the Great South Bay.