Edward August Rath III is an American politician who served as a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

from the 61st district. Elected in November 2020, he assumed office on January 6, 2021.

Early life and education

Rath was born in Amherst, New York. His mother,

Mary Lou Rath 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, she represented the state's 61st district, which consisted of parts of Erie County and ...

, served as a member of the

from 1993 to 2008. His grandfather, Edward A. Rath, was the first county executive of Erie County. Rath's father, Edward Rath Jr., was a justice of the

New York 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 ...

. After graduating from the Nichols School, Rath earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and history from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

and a Master of Business Administration from

Canisius College Canisius College is a private Jesuit college in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 master's ...

Career

From 2001 to 2003, Rath worked as a consultant for ProLiance Energy. He was later a consultant at the

NOCO Energy Corporation NOCO Energy Corporation is a family-owned and operated corporation based in Tonawanda, New York (a suburb of Buffalo). The company specializes in gasoline, commercial fuels, industrial lubricants, bio-products, home energy fuel, and heating and ...

and a sales manager for Gateway Energy. From 2012 to 2014, Rath was a manager at APG&E. In 2008, he was elected to the Erie County Legislature, representing the sixth district. During his tenure in the legislature, he served as a member of the Public Safety Committee and drafted legislation to create a Property Tax Stabilization Fund. Rath was elected to the

in November 2020 and assumed office on January 6, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rath, Edward Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Amherst, New York Syracuse University alumni Canisius University alumni County legislators in New York (state) Republican Party New York (state) state senators 21st-century American politicians