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Mary Lou Rath to Retire In The 61st SD

January 28, 2008

GOP sources have confirmed a report that Sen. Mary Lou Rath is poised to announce she won’t run for re-election in November, touching off what’s likely to be yet another battle for an open Senate seat.

The fact that Rath is going to depart the Senate comes as no big surprise - she has reportedly wanted to leave for some time.

What has raised some eyebrows, however, is the fact that she will choose to serve out her term and not step down immediately to force a special election in which the GOP would have the upper hand at keeping her seat.

Rath started making calls to Erie County GOP leaders yesterday to inform them of her decision. One told me that while she wants to serve out her full term, nothing is “set in stone,” and she could perhaps be talked into leaving earlier.

By announcing her intent to leave, Rath is following in the footsteps of former Sen. Jim Wright, whose mid-term retirement from the 48th SD caused the special election battle currently being waged between Assemblyman Darrel Aubertine and Will Barclay.

The Senate GOP is rapidly aging, with a number of members over 70. Look for Senate Majority Leader Joseph bruno to crack down on any more departures, knowing that open seats in a presidential election year could hasten the end of the Republican majority.

GOP sources speculated that Rath wants to improve the chances of her son, Erie County Legislator Edward Rath III, to succeed her in the Senate. Edward Rath, who just took office at the beginning of January, is not the first in line to get the GOP nod. That would probably be Assemblyman Jim Hayes.

UPDATE: Bill Sherman, chief of staff to Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco, sent over this statement:

“While we understand the need to keep the Senate in GOP hands, we also would hate to lose Jim Hayes, one of our most valued members. Jim has been a huge reason our conference has been so successful over the past two years.”

However, other local GOP sources insisted Edward Rath isn’t planning to follow his mother into the Senate, as he did with the county legislature (she served there from 1978 to 1993), saying it’s too early for him to make such a move. He may also be eyeing an eventual run for countywide office.

The GOP has an enrollment edge in the 61st SD - 78,632 Democrats to 86,604 Republicans and 42,920 blanks.

Last January, Rath was appointed by Bruno to the post of deputy majority leader for state/federal relations, making her the only woman the GOP leadership.

Source: NY Daily News

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Written by NY Politics · Filed Under News 

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