A woman whose professional experience is a mix of law and accounting has entered the race for Erie County Comptroller. Vanessa Glushefski formally launched her campaign outside the Rath Building.
Glushefski has worked both in private practice and, in recent months, served on the staff of State Assemblywoman Monica Wallace, who introduced the candidate Tuesday morning.
The Democrat, in her bid to unseat incumbent Stefan Mychajliw, is setting a tone that pits her professional experience against the incumbent's name recognition. Before he was elected, Mychajliw was best known as a local television reporter. Glushefski suggests that's not enough to be effective in the office.
She went as far as to say that under the current leadership, tax dollars have been wasted by people who "don't know what they're doing."
"On the other hand, having qualified people in office enables us to focus on finding creative solutions for urgent problems, like funding for opioid addiction treatment," Glushefski stated.
In her introductory remarks, Wallace explained that she met Glushefski at a Women's Bar Association event, where the two discovered a shared concern, the lack of women in office.
"There were highly qualified women, women who were as qualified if not more qualified than their male counterparts, who chose just not to run for office," Wallace said. "We wanted to change that."
Glushefski is resigning from Wallace's staff as she seeks her own office.
