Stefan I. Mychajliw Jr.
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November 13, 1973
Stefan I. Mychajliw Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Erie County Comptroller | |
| In office December 27, 2012 – January 1, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | David Shenk |
| Succeeded by | Kevin Hardwick |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Stefan Iwan Mychajliw, Jr. November 13, 1973 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Ashley Kowalyk |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Syracuse University (BS) |
| Occupation | Politician, journalist, political strategist |
Stefan Iwan Mychajliw Jr. is an American politician, journalist, and political strategist who served as Erie County comptroller from 2012 to 2021. Before entering elected office, he worked in television news and public relations in Western New York. After leaving office, he worked on Republican political campaigns and in conservative media.[1][2][3][4]
Stefan Mychajliw was born on raised on the East Side of Buffalo, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in broadcast journalism from Syracuse University.[5]
Journalism and communications career
Before running for office, Mychajliw worked in television news, including as an investigative reporter at WGRZ-TV and WKBW-TV in Buffalo.[2][5] He later served as special assistant to the superintendent for community relations at Buffalo Public Schools and as community relations coordinator for the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District.[5]
In 2011 and 2012, he co-founded Profit Media Group and co-hosted a noon debate program on Channel 2. When he entered the race for Erie County comptroller in 2012, he left his hosting role because of equal-time rules.[1]
Erie County comptroller
Mychajliw announced his candidacy for Erie County comptroller in 2012 with the backing of the Republican, Conservative, and Independence parties.[1] In the November 2012 election, he defeated Democrat David Shenk, who had been appointed to the post after Mark Poloncarz became county executive.[6] He was sworn in on December 27, 2012.[7]
In 2013, Mychajliw won a full term, defeating Democratic candidate Kevin Gaughan.[8][9] He won reelection again in 2017, defeating Vanessa Glushefski.[10]
During his tenure, Mychajliw styled himself as an aggressive fiscal watchdog and frequent critic of Poloncarz. In 2018, The Buffalo News reported that the Government Finance Officers Association honored him with an award for outstanding popular annual financial reporting.[11]
Other campaigns and later work
In 2020, Mychajliw entered the Republican race for New York's 27th congressional district seat after the resignation of Chris Collins.[12] He lost the Republican primary to Chris Jacobs.[13]
In 2021, he ran for Hamburg town supervisor and lost to Democrat Randy Hoak.[14]
After leaving the comptroller's office at the end of 2021, Mychajliw worked as a political operative and commentator. In 2023, he served as deputy communications director for Vivek Ramaswamy's presidential campaign.[15] In 2024, Investigative Post reported that he was writing for the South Shore Press, a weekly newspaper in Suffolk County.[3] In 2025, WKBW reported that he had joined Elise Stefanik's gubernatorial campaign as director of rapid response.[4]
Controversies and criticism
In 2016, the Erie County ethics board found that Mychajliw had violated county ethics law by soliciting local businessmen to pay for a one-week Harvard training session.[16][17]
In 2019, he drew criticism after inviting Department of Motor Vehicles employees to report suspected undocumented immigrants seeking licenses under New York's Green Light law to his office's whistleblower hotline. Investigative Post described the move as an anti-immigrant "dog whistle".[18]
In 2020, Mychajliw sued Poloncarz over the salary of associate deputy comptroller Lynne Dixon, arguing that the county executive had improperly reduced her pay. Spectrum News reported that the dispute centered on whether the county executive had authority to change the salary that had been budgeted for the position.[19]
In January 2021, WKBW reported that an analysis of swipe-card data showed Mychajliw entering his office on 62 weekdays over a one-year period from September 2019 through August 2020. The station reported that Mychajliw responded that his secretary sometimes buzzed him in, which would not create a swipe record.[20]
In October 2021, The Buffalo News reported that half a dozen political appointees had left the comptroller's office over the previous two years.[21] Earlier that year, Investigative Post reported that his campaign finance filing for Hamburg town supervisor arrived late and appeared to use the wrong campaign committee, which the outlet described as part of a pattern of campaign finance problems.[22]