Yakuboff Making Another Go at Town Council

He was the first person to sign his name to a Declaration of Candidacy form on Wednesday morning when the town office filing period opened.

After a one-year hiatus from the Merrimack Town Council, David Yakuboff rolled into the Town Clerk's office Wednesday morning ready to start the list of people running for six town offices open this election cycle. There are an additional 11 seats on the school side of things

Yakuboff, who finished out a three-year term in 2012 elected not to run again last year in order to take care of some health issues that pushed him to step down as the board's vice chairman in the fall of 2011.

"I miss it," Yakuboff said simply of why he decided to run again this year. He previously sat on the council for four years and served a year as a one of nine Charter Commissioners, the group that investigated which form of government was best for Merrimack.

With his health stabilized and his company, All Basics Stoves Shop, securely in the hands of his children, Yakuboff said he needs something to do, and serving on the Town Council is something he loves.

"I have a lot less to do now," Yakuboff said. "I never realized how much time it took up."

Yakuboff spent part of his year away from the council working on developing an anti-bullying website, No Excuse for Peer Abuse, to serve as a gateway to help people contact the appropriate resources if they feel they or someone they know are being bullied.

“It turned into exactly what I thought it would, a gateway to other resources to help people being bullied,” Yakuboff said. “It will go on until people feel there's no need for it.”

Returning to the Council would be a return to at least semi-normalcy for Yakuboff, who admits retirement has been an adjustment.

He said the Town Council is in a good place and he'd like to maintain the structure of it as it stands.

“The Council is very level-headed,” Yakuboff said. “Years ago it was pretty contentious. It'a not that way anymore. It's a place where people work together.”

The filing period is open until the close of business on Friday, March 1, at 4:30 p.m.

Click here for a full list of open offices on both the town and school sides.