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Suffolk BOE invalidates petition for Assembly candidate’s primary

Michael Yacubich of Shoreham, who is seeking to run a primary against state Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo for the Republican line, had his petitions invalidated by the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

Mr. Yacubich, 52, said he was notified about a week ago that his petitions were being challenged, and received notice Monday that the Board of Elections has invalidated them.

According to the Board of Elections ruling, there is a Michael B. Yacubich, the candidate, and a Michael V. Yacubich, his son, registered to vote at the same Shoreham address.

“It cannot be determined to which voter “Mike Yacubich” — the name referred to on the petition — is meant to designate as a candidate,” according to the ruling.

The ruling was made by Republican Board of Election Commissioner Nick LaLota and Democratic Board of Election Commissioner Anita Katz.

Mr. Yacubich plans to challenge the ruling in court.

“We had 850 signatures and we needed 500,” he said.

The objections were filed by Brian Andrews of New Suffolk.

The assembly race for the Republican nod, if the courts determine it can continue, pitted Mr. Palumbo, 47, who is from New Suffolk and who was first elected in a special election to fill a vacancy in 2013, against Mr. Yacubich. The primary is Sept. 13.

Mr. Palumbo also has the Conservative and Independence party nominations, so his name will be on the November ballot regardless of whether he wins the primary.

“When it’s a contested primary like this, it’s protocol to contest the petitions,” said Mr. Palumbo, an attorney and former prosecutor. “And his petitions were a mess.”

There is also a Democratic candidate, Rona Smith, 73, of Greenport.

Mr. Yacubich is an accountant and financial advisor, who is chief of the Rocky Point Fire Department and a former Shoreham-Wading River Board of Education member.

“The main reason I chose to get involved is that I have listened for the last 25 years on how we need to control the cost of living on Long Island so that our seniors and our kids can afford to live here,” Mr. Yacubich said in an interview. “I haven’t really seen much progress in that area. My kids are in college, starting to graduate and figure out where they going to end up, and it doesn’t like they going to be able to stay on the island.”

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