Serphin R Maltese

Serphin R. Maltese (born December 7, 1932) is a former New York State Senator representing New York's 15th State Senate District, located in southern and central Queens. From 1986 to 1988, he was the chairman of the Conservative Party of New York.

Born and reared in the once heavily Italian-American neighborhood of Corona in Queens, New York. In 1951, Maltese graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York City. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Manhattan College in 1958 and a JD and LLB from the Fordham University Law School in New York City.

In 1984, Maltese ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives from Central Queens. The seat was being vacated by Geraldine Ferraro who was chosen to run for Vice President on the Democratic ticket with Walter Mondale. Maltese faced Democrat Thomas J. Manton and lost narrowly; 53-47 percent. Maltese's loss was attributed to the presence of Ferraro on the national ticket. The district had historically been one of the more conservative districts in New York City; it had been friendly to Republican presidential candidates for some time.

Maltese was a member of the New York State Senate from 1989 to 2008, sitting in the 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th, 195th, 196th and 197th New York State Legislatures. He was elected as a Conservative, at most times with endorsement by the Republican and Right to Life parties, to ten two-year terms, often by comfortable margins in a normally strongly Democratic district. However, in 2006, he was nearly defeated, narrowly winning against relatively unknown Democrat Albert Baldeo 51%-49% (a 783 vote margin) amid the massive Democratic wave that swept through New York. In 2008, Maltese was heavily defeated by New York City Councilman Joseph Addabbo, Jr., garnering only 42% of the vote as the Democrats took control of the State Senate.

Maltese serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Christ The King Regional High School, an independent Catholic high school in Middle Village, Queens.