Edward Rath III to follow in mother's footsteps, run for Erie County Legislature seat
by JILL SCHMELZER Reporter

E d w a rd Rath III

Republican Edward Rath III announced his candidacy for the Erie County Legislature on Friday in Williamsville.

Rath is running for the 15th District seat now held by Dr. Barry Weinstein, who is not seeking re-election.

Rath, 39, is the son of Sen. Mary Lou Rath, R-Williamsville, and the late State Supreme Court Justice Edward Rath II.

If elected, Rath said, there would be an advantage to working with his mother because they already have an open line of communication.

"Statewide, it gives us the understanding we need to know to get the state and county working together," he said.

He said it would be a great opportunity to be involved in public service, which he holds on a high pedestal, Rath said.

"My family has a proven track record in Amherst and the community," Rath said of his political background.

Rath's interest in politics began when he was 10 years old and his mother first ran for political office.

"I found it fascinating," he said. Rath attended Syracuse University and studied political science, focusing on American government.

He said he learned how government is run and the importance of the political branches' ability to work together.

"I was bitten by the bug," Rath said.

He interned in Washington, D.C. with Jack Kemp in 1988, working part time on Capitol Hill and part time with Kemp's presidential campaign.

In 1989, he was an intern again, but this time with then New York State Assembly Republican leader Tom Reynolds. Reynolds is now a U.S. congressman from Amherst.

Since then, Rath has served the private sector for 15 years and is currently a senior energy consultant for NOCO Energy Corp.

He was as a member of the Erie County Charter Revision Commission, where he served as chair of the Scope of Government Committee.

He decided to run for political office after he had been away from the area for a few years.

When he returned, Rath said he kept reading about the fiscal trouble the county was in, and he disagreed with the red and green budgets.

"I am running to help bring fiscal responsibility and accountability back to Erie County government," Rath said. "Just because Erie County has the ability to continue to tax does not mean the hardworking taxpayers of this community have the ability to pay."

He said if elected, he would put his efforts toward the Charter Revision Commission by ensuring the will of the voters is not ignored.

During the press conference at the Atrium at 5500 Main St. Friday, Rath said "I will fight for the full implementation of those changes including the creation of programmatic budgeting, which will increase accountability, performance and transparency."

He added that his 15 years of private sector business experience has taught him that "You can't run a $1.4 billion operation like Erie County with pork, patronage and a friends and family program. By cutting out pork and patronage and reducing the size of our government, we can begin to phase out the extra 1.75 percent of sales tax."

He said he would use the practices of the private sector and implement them in the public sector, meaning instituting ways of managing the budget efficiently, working with competitors to apply better practices and looking at different ways to cover government efficiently and cost effectively.

Rath recently received his master's degree in business administration from Canisius College.

"My campaign is based on three key principles," Rath said. "First, the hardworking taxpayers of Erie County deserve new approaches to generating tax relief. Second, there needs to be a restructuring of how Erie County government is managed. Finally, the Legislature must focus on ways to improve the delivery of county services while cutting costs and streamlining the process."