Roethe began his career as a teacher. He later worked as the publisher of the Fennimore Times in Fennimore, Wisconsin. He served as president of the village of Fennimore in 1919 and after the community was incorporated as a city he served as the first mayor of Fennimore from 1919 to 1924. He served in the Wisconsin Senate as a Republican twice, initially as successor to his brother Henry Edgar Roethe.Wisconsin Blue Book, 1940, Biographical Sketch of Edward J. Roethe, p. 30.
