[1] 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 Edward A. Rath County Office Building, is named in his honor.
[2] Rath was the patriarch of a prominent Western New York political family.
His son, Edward A. Rath, Jr. (1930-2003), served as a justice of the New York State Supreme Court and his daughter-in-law, Mary Lou Rath was a member of the New York State Senate and a former minority leader of the Erie County Legislature.
His grandson, Edward Rath III, is a member of the New York State Senate.