Mary Lou Rath (née Schmitt) (born June 17, 1934) is an American politician who served as a member of

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

from 1993 to 2008. A Republican, 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 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 referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

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

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

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. 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 politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. He previously served in the State Legislature from 1985 to 1994, and as the mayor of Peekskill from 1981 to 1984 ...

as his running mate for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. 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, who served as the lieutenant governor of New York from 1999 to 2006. Donohue was first elected lieutena ...

instead.

Personal life

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

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. Edward Rath, Jr. was a justice of the

New York State Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

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

. 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 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature 20th-century American women politicians