BOSTON – Gov. Mitt Romney on Friday asked President Bush to appoint a Northeast representative to the panel charged with recommending military base closings.

“I note with serious concern that each of the six people recommended by the Senate and House leaders hails from west of the Mississippi River,” Romney wrote in a letter sent to Bush on Friday. “To address the current geographic imbalance, I urge you to include among your nominees at least one individual from the Northeast region of the country.”

It was announced Friday by the White House that Bush plans to nominate former Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi to lead the independent commission.

Principi, a vice president of drug manufacturer Pfizer Corp. and a decorated Vietnam War veteran, once served as a chief counsel for the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. He also has been a top official with defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

The president has two more panelists to nominate. A total of nine people will be named to the commission.

Romney and other state leaders are hoping to save Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford and the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick.

Romney last month approved a $261 million bond authorization bill designed to expand both bases, create new jobs and persuade the Pentagon to spare the two facilities.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., also has pushed to save the bases, which he said are crucial to the nation’s security.

In May, the nine-member federal 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission will consider base closings suggested by the secretary of defense. Four months later, it will submit base closure recommendations to President Bush.

A Pentagon official has said the state’s spending promises would not factor into decisions on base closings.