Mike Yacubich

Mike Yacubich 

Republican  

BACKGROUND: Yacubich, 51, of Shoreham, is a Republican who is making his first bid for office. He earned an accounting degree at Adelphi University, worked in Manhattan in corporate accounting and was controller at a Long Island manufacturing company before joining the family’s tax, accounting and financial services firm in East Islip as an accountant and financial adviser. He served a term on the Shoreham-Wading River school board and is chief of the Rocky Point Fire Department, where he’s been a member for 20 years. Before that  he was a volunteer in the Coram fire department. He is married and has three children.

ISSUES: Yacubich said his main issue is that New York is becoming unaffordable. “I have three college-age children who most likely won’t be able to come back to Long Island, and not much has been done to address these problems,” he said. “It’s getting to the point where it’s just unbearable.” He proposes using his accounting background to help find economies, and to work to reduce costs through consolidating services. “There’s plenty of money within the current $170 billion state budget — we need to reallocate it, we don’t need to increase it,” he said. Yacubich also favors term limits, with no elected officials serving longer than 12 years. “That’s more than enough time to accomplish what you need to get done and lets you have fresh faces and fresh ideas,” he said.