Rene Rodriguez Seeks Township Commissioner Seat

Rene Rodriguez, a retired engineer and former South Whitehall commissioner, has joined the race for township commissioner.

Rodriguez, 79, is one of six people seeking the Republican nomination in the May 17th primary for three seats. No Democrats are running, but several candidates have said they plan to seek the Democratic nomination as write-in candidates.

Rodriguez previously served as township commissioner from 1988 to 1992, and again from 1998 to 2009, losing a re-election bid that year. He has served as both vice president and president of the board.

In a prepared statement, Rodriguez identified what he sees as key issues facing the township: lack of infrastructure to support appropriate development as the township implements its comprehensive plan; the need for federal and state funding to improve the township's north-south corridors; and maintenance of quality of life as the township changes from rural to suburban.

"The township has been under pressure to accept development that is appropriate for urban communities, not suburban ones," he said, noting that requests for zoning changes in commercial activities have resulted in aggravation for neighbors near the development.

"The commissioners need to be more responsive to the desires of the citizens in controlling additional development," he said in the statement. 

With two of three incumbents not seeking re-election, Rodriquez said he decided to seek a commissioner seat to bring to the board his years of knowledge of township development, including the costs of providing infrastructure and services.

In addition to serving as a township commissioner, Rodriquez served on the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and South Whitehall planning commission. He is a board member of the Pennsylvania Sinfonia, a volunteer driver for Meals on Wheels in Lehigh County and a Scoutmaster.

He received his bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Penn State University, and his master's of science degree in metallurgical engineering from Lehigh University.

He was a senior engineer in the factory networking group at Lucent Technologies, responsible for providing support for network connections to personal computers and factory computer systems.