Mar 26, 2011 2 min read

Former legislator Lawrence Roberts of South Union Township was one of 14 people throughout the state to testify before the 2011 Legislative Reapportionment Commission in Harrisburg in a quest to serve as chairman of the commission.

The testimony was held earlier this month during the first public hearing of the commission.

In January, the four legislative members of the Legislative Reapportionment Commission announced they were seeking applications from people interested in serving as chairman.

A total of 28 people submitted their names for consideration. All 28 were invited to participate in the hearin,g and 14 responded to participate, the commission said in a press release.

Roberts, labor arbitrator at Lawrence Roberts Associates Inc. in Uniontown, formerly served as state representative for the 51st Legislative District. He is a Democrat.

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission is a five-member panel responsible for redrawing the boundaries for state Senate and state House districts to reflect population changes over the past decade as measured by the federal census. The state constitution names the four caucus floor leaders as members of the commission.

“It was a humbling experience to participate and present myself to the commission with so many other highly qualified individuals.

Reapportioning the state is a very serious matter and I would be honored if chosen to serve as chairman of the commission,” Roberts said.

Because of the results of the 2010 census, Pennsylvania will lose one member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the districts must be reapportioned to reflect that change.

The deadline for a decision on the chairman is April 4.

If the floor leaders do not reach an agreement, the state Supreme Court will make the appointment no later than May 4.

The constitution requires that the chairman of the commission be a citizen of Pennsylvania who does not hold a local, state or federal office to which compensation is attached.