DES MOINES - Dick Robert, a Cedar Falls real estate agent, has been appointed to the seven-member Iowa Real Estate Commission.

Robert, a Waterloo native, is the first local real estate agent appointed to the commission since former Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors chairwoman Barbara Leestamper served as a public-sector member of the commission from 1999 to 2001.

Robert's term began May 1 and will expire in 2012. Commission members can be appointed to as many as three terms.

"It was kind of surprise to me," Robert said. "The governor's office called in February and asked if I was interested. Maybe somebody from the commission or the Iowa Association of Realtors recommended me."

Robert, 62, broker and owner of Cedar Falls Real Estate Co., has held his real estate license since 1973. He replaced Jim Hughes, an Independence-based broker, as the Northeast Iowa representative on the commission. He is one of its four licensees; the other three represent the public sector.

The commission's primary function, Robert said, is to review all investigations that are going on and hold hearings on some of the investigations of violations of the Iowa Real Estate Code.

The commission has authority over about 1,800 Iowa firms and 11,000 licensees, about 7,000 of whom are Realtors, Robert said.

"It's really an important function to make sure everything is operating the way it should be," Robert said.

The position will require only one or two days a month of Robert, he said.

"We're just here to make sure real estate people follow the rules."