Gorbey was in private law practice in Chester from 1949 to 1967. In 1950, he served as an investigator and appraiser for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Department. From 1951 to 1952, he was an editor of the
Delaware County Legal Journal. From 1956 to 1963, he served as a member of the
Chester City Council. In January 1964, Gorbey became mayor of Chester at a time of racial strife and the
Chester school protests of the city's
segregated schools. During his inauguration speech, Gorbey said, "Chester has no Negro problem...and demonstrations will no longer be tolerated." In spring 1964, almost-nightly protests led by
George Raymond of the Chester branch of the
NAACP and
Stanley Branche of the
Committee for Freedom Now (CFFN) brought chaos to Chester and resulted in mass arrests of protesters. Mayor Gorbey issued "The Police Position to Preserve the Public Peace", a ten-point statement promising an immediate return to law and order. The city deputized firemen and trash collectors to help handle demonstrators. The state of Pennsylvania sent 50 state troopers to help the 77-member Chester police force. The demonstrations were marked by violence and
police brutality. Over 600 people were arrested during two months of civil rights rallies, marches, pickets, boycotts and sit-ins. The protests ended in November 1964, when the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission ordered the
desegregation of Chester public schools. Gorbey was a judge of the
Delaware County Court of Common Pleas from 1968 to 1970. Gorbey was nominated by President
Richard Nixon on November 30, 1970, to the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, to a new seat created by 84 Stat. 294. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate on December 19, 1970, and received his commission on December 21, 1970. == Death ==