POLITICS: Mary Lou Rath announces retirement

Local News

January 28, 2008

State senator plans to retire at the end of 2008

By Daniel Pye/pyed@gnnewspaper.com The Niagara Gazette Mon Jan 28, 2008, 10:21 PM EST

After spending 30 years in public service, state Sen. Mary Lou Rath, R-Williamsville, announced that she will retire at the conclusion of this year.

Rath has represented the 61st District, which includes parts of the City of Tonawanda, Town of Tonawanda, Amherst, Williamsville and Kenmore, since 1993. She was first elected to public office in 1979 when she joined the Erie County Legislature. She served as the Republican leader from 1989 until her election to the state Senate in November of 1993.

Rath said that every two years officials have to make the decision to run all over again and this year she decided it was time to move on and do other things.

“When you’re in public office for 30 years, you’ve left a lot of things you want to do undone,” she said. “I’m going to spend more time with my grandkids and traveling, among other things.”

Assemblyman Robin Schimminger, D-Kenmore, said he had an excellent working relationship with the senator and was very surprised by the announcement of her retirement.

“Every couple of years the theory circulates that Sen. Rath was retiring, but there was never anything to it,” Schimminger said. “So this year, when she personally told me of her plans, I was as shocked as anyone.”

Rath said she was grateful for the opportunity to serve and plans to stay involved in public issues in one way or another.

As to her successor, Rath said only that she thinks the logical person is Assemblyman Jim Hayes, R-Amherst.

“He’s a very effective assemblyman who is familiar with the system,” Rath said.

Other contenders are already lining up. Amherst Town Councilman Dan Ward said he will be running for the seat come November and that the open seat is a good opportunity for Democrats, who are currently outnumbered in the state Senate 33-29.

“We need a lot more passion, activity and leadership from this Senate seat,” Ward said in a released statement. “I have a huge agenda and want to return this office to the people of this district as a tool to provide solutions for their myriad problems.”

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Local News

Legislation protecting Falls air base units moves forward
The effort to protect jobs at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station got a boost from a committee in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Korean student robbed at gunpoint in Falls
Detectives are investigating the robbery of a 25-year-old woman Wednesday night in front of a motel in the 400 block of Main Street.

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Davis will not seek Murphy removal
Lawyers for accused killer Matthew “Bones” Davis say their client will not ask to have Niagara County Court Judge Matthew J. Murphy III removed from his case.

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Labor group laments economic development efforts
Economic development in New York state has become a joke to some in the area. And many of them are demanding changes to a process which spends approximately $3 billion a year.

May 24, 2012
Repaving work on Old Military Road rises to $790K
Sometimes a change is good. Sometimes a change is bad. For the Town of Lewiston, a change can be pretty costly.

May 24, 2012
Fifth-grader presents list of 400 names asking for new playground
A 10-year-old boy carrying a petition containing more than 400 signatures asked members of the Niagara Falls School Board on Thursday to consider building a new playground at his school.

May 24, 2012
Bomb threat leads to arrest at NT school
A North Tonawanda teen was arrested Thursday morning for sending a one-sentence bomb threat to the computer of a fellow high school student, resulting in a brief lockdown of the school.

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Sense of resignation on AES pact
May 24, 2012
Marching to the new veterans memorial
It's the unofficial beginning of summer.

Memorial Day may mean cookouts with hot dogs and hamburgers, a trip on the river in a boat or simply a day off from work Monday.

May 24, 2012 2 Photos
Fugitive in meth case caught
Moments after Falls police narcotics detectives and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents uncovered a clandestine meth lab in the city's Echota neightborhood, their prime suspect sent a cryptic text message to Detective Joe Palmero.

May 24, 2012 2 Photos
More Local News Headlines

Do you think cigarette sales to non-Native American customers should be taxed on reservations?