Government

Southold Voters Guide 2014: A closer look at the ballot

Bishop_Zeldin

U.S. House of Representatives

Six-term incumbent Tim Bishop, 64, (D-Southampton), is a lifelong Southampton resident who came to Congress after serving in the administration of Southampton College for 29 years, many of them as provost. He started at the school as an admissions counselor and retired in 2002 after defeating incumbent Republican Congressman Felix Grucci.

He’s focused his seventh run for office on strengthening the middle class through greater access to higher education and defending Social Security. He’s also touted the passage of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013, which he helped author. The legislation is designed to cut through bureaucratic red tape and strengthen the country’s water transportation networks and promote economic development.

A 12th-generation Southampton resident, Mr. Bishop received his bachelor’s degree from College of the Holy Cross and his master’s from Long Island University.

He serves on the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Lee Zeldin, 34, (R-Shirley) is an attorney and state senator making his second run against Tim Bishop for Congress, the first being in 2008.

Mr. Zeldin is a veteran of the Iraq War. He spent four years on active duty with the U.S. Army and deployed in 2006 with the 82nd Airborne Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He’s focused much of his campaign on reining in wasteful government spending and ending dysfunction in Washington. Of his almost four years in Albany, he points often to legislative work that repealed the saltwater fishing license and partially repealed the locally despised MTA payroll tax. He also won funds for the PFC Joseph Dwyer PTSD support program, which helps returning veterans cope with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mr. Zeldin is a major in the Army Reserves. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from SUNY/Albany and a law degree from Albany Law School.