Mary Lou Rath (née Schmitt) (born June 17, 1934) is an American politician who served as a member of New York State Senate from 1993 to 2008. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, she represented the state's 61st district, which consisted of parts of Erie County and all of Genesee County.

Early life and education

Rath was born in

Kenmore, New York Kenmore is a village in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,423 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. Kenmore is in the south part of the town of Tonawanda, and together with t ...

to Aloysius Casper "Lloyd" Schmitt and Margaret M. Cassidy. Her parents divorced and Rath's mother remarried to George Louis Whetzle. She attended the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...

before earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the Buffalo State Teacher's College (now

Buffalo State College The State University of New York College at Buffalo (colloquially referred to as Buffalo State College, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo State, or simply Buff State) is a public college in Buffalo, New York. It is part of the State University of New ...

Career

She was elected to the Senate in 1993 after serving as a member of the Erie County Legislature from 1978 to 1993. During her final four years in the County Legislature, she served as the Minority Leader of the Legislature. In January 2007, she was appointed to the post of deputy majority leader for state/federal relations, making her the only woman in the Senate Republican leadership. She announced her retirement in 2008 and was succeeded by Erie County Legislator

Michael Ranzenhofer Michael H. Ranzenhofer (born August 15, 1954) is an American politician from the state of New York. From 2009 until 2020, Ranzenhofer was a Republican member of the New York State Senate from the 61st district. Education Ranzenhofer earned a ...

. Ranzenhofer had also succeeded Senator Rath as Minority Leader of the Erie County Legislature when Senator Rath stepped down to become a state senator. During her service in the Senate, Rath served at different times as chairwoman of the Tourism, Recreation and Sports Development Committee, chairwoman of the Children and Families Committee and as chairwoman of the Local Government Committee. In 1998, she was reportedly considered by Governor

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...

as his running mate for lieutenant governor. Pataki choose Judge

Mary Donohue Mary O'Connor Donohue (born March 22, 1947) is an American retired educator, attorney, politician and Judge of the New York Court of Claims and a former two-term Lieutenant Governor of New York. Donohue was first elected Lieutenant Governor in ...

instead.

Personal life

Rath married her late husband, Edward Rath, Jr. (1930-2003), on January 10, 1959 in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. Edward Rath, Jr. was a justice of the

New York State Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

and her father-in-law, Edward A. Rath, was the first county executive of Erie County. Her son, Edward Rath III, won his election for the Erie County Legislature for her former seat and in 2020 was elected in her seat for New York State Senate. She is a resident of the Village of Williamsville, and has two other children, Allison and Melinda.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rath, Mary Lou Living people Republican Party New York (state) state senators People from Kenmore, New York People from Williamsville, New York County legislators in New York (state) Women state legislators in New York (state) Buffalo State College alumni University at Buffalo alumni 1937 births