Edward A. Rath was the first County Executive

County executive

A county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a county. This position is common in the United States.The executive may be an elected or an appointed position...

 of Erie County, New York

Erie County, New York

Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 919,040. The county seat is Buffalo. The county's name comes from Lake Erie, which in turn comes from the Erie tribe of American Indians who lived south and east of the lake before 1654.Erie...

. Following the transition from the Board of Supervisors form of government for Erie County to a County Executive form, Rath was elected in 1960 to an initial three year term. The Rath County Office Building, the home of county government's executive branch, is named after him.

Rath was reelected in 1963 and 1967. He died in office in 1969 and was succeeded by Erie County Sheriff B. John Tutuska

B. John Tutuska

B. John Tutuska was the second County Executive in Erie County, New York, serving from 1969 - 1971. He succeeded Edward C. Rath in 1969 after Rath died in office. Prior to being appointed County Executive, Tutuska served as Erie County Sheriff from 1959 - 1969.Tutuska defeated then Common...

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Rath is the patriarch of a prominent Western New York political family. His son, the late Edward A. Rath, Jr., served as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court and his daughter-in-law, Mary Lou Rath

Mary Lou Rath

Mary Lou Rath is a former state senator in New York. A Republican, she represents the state's 61st Senate District, which consists of parts of Erie County and all of Genesee County. In January 2007, she was appointed to the post of Deputy Majority Leader for State/Federal Relations, making her the...

 was a New York State Senator and a former minority leader of the Erie County Legislature. His grandson, Edward A. Rath III won election in 2007 to the Erie County Legislature.