Lehigh County Board of Commissioners interviewed Republican candidates Nov. 24 to replace Nathan Brown, representing the fifth district, who resigned.

The governance committee, chaired by Commissioner Geoff Brace, conducted the interviews. He was expecting five candidates to appear via Zoom, but one, Vince Tucciarone, of Coopersburg, did not attend the interview.

Wanda Mercado-Arroyo, of Center Valley, had applied for the position but, before the interview, withdrew her name from consideration.

The candidates interviewed were Nathan Mercer, a 10-year resident of Center Valley; Diana Englis, an engineer from Bethlehem; Joe Vichot, a pilot from Upper Saucon Township; and Jeffrey Dutt, an Allentown School District teacher, resident of Emmaus and former Whitehall Township commissioner.

Mercer said he wants a “chance to serve the community” and to see “that people have a voice” and expressed support for farmland preservation. He said he wants “to see the whole county proper.”

Mercer had submitted his resume, which read, “I have a growing interest in politics and feel this would be a good opportunity to serve my neighbors in Lehigh County. I believe I can make unbiased decisions to help improve the quality and prosperity of the citizens in Lehigh County. I have lived in Lehigh County for over 10 years and worked in and around Lehigh County for over 15 years. I would like to be able to help make a difference in Lehigh County. I continue to educate myself and strive to do the best at anything I put my mind to. I also work well with other people regardless of their political affiliation. After all, it is not just about the political party in Lehigh County. It is the citizens we choose to serve.”

Mercer is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree at DeSales University.

Englis said she sees serving on the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners as “an opportunity to take her desire for community service to a higher level.”

She described herself as a moderate Republican, saying “Partisanism is in my blood.”

She was referring to the fact her father was a former mayor of Bethlehem. She said she learned from her father that “working across the party line leads to progress.”

She said her husband is a supervisor in Upper Saucon Township.

Englis said she opposes tax increases because increases will add to the COVID-19 burden. She said she would support responsible residential and commercial development.

According to her resume, she has “been a registered Republican in Pennsylvania since 1985 and a resident of Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County, since 2001.

“I am a lifelong Lehigh Valley resident, growing up in Bethlehem and attending Lehigh University. After graduating from Lehigh University with a [Bachelor of Science] in chemical engineering, I began working at Fuller Company (which became FLSmidth in 2001),” she said in her resume.

Englis said she has “been very involved in our community through volunteering at St. Luke’s [University] Health Network, Southern Lehigh School District, the Saucon Rail-Trail Advisory Commission and serving on the board of directors at the Southern Lehigh Public Library since 2016.”

Vichot, a resident of Upper Saucon Township, said he moved to Lehigh County in 2017. A former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, he said he is a member of Lehigh County Republican Committee and “is able to work well with everybody.”

He said taxation is an important issue for him, as is “limited government.”

“Balancing the budget is the job we need to do,” Vichot said.

Vichot expressed a concern with the “integrity of the election system.” He, a member of Lehigh County Republican Party, said he had testified in the case of Democrat Enid Santiago versus Democrat Peter Schweyer in which Santiago lost the primary to Schweyer, a result Santiago challenged. When Democrat Commissioner Dan Hartzell asked about the nature of Vichot’s testimony, Vichot said he testified “to help her (Santiago) get her concerns addressed.”

Vichot said he could “bring fresh insight” to the job of commissioner.

He assured the interviewing commissioners his international travel schedule could be managed to ensure he would have the time necessary to devote to the job of commissioner.

Vichot has a Bachelor of Arts in industrial engineering and a master’s degree in management from the University of Tennessee.

Dutt said he would like to see Lehigh County school districts come together to “enhance curriculum to improve the Lehigh County work force.”

Dutt said he is not concerned with the fact he has lived in the fifth district for only one year because he has family in Vera Cruz and is getting acquainted with the citizens.

According to his resume, which he submitted with his application, “In 2015, I was elected to the board of commissioners in Whitehall Township. During this election, I was able to unseat a 20-year incumbent. During my time on the board, I was the only Republican but effectively and cooperatively worked with my colleagues to pass three no-tax-increase budgets, legislation to start a senior center in Whitehall and secured a grant to begin the process of preserving historic Hokendauqua. I also sat on many committees during my tenure as commissioner. I was the secretary of the Whitehall veterans memorial committee, a member of the MacArthur 75th (anniversary) committee, a member of the fall festival committee and eventually president of Whitehall Active Community Center.

“I will bring a dedication to representing my constituency and a long history of hard work to the position. Currently, I am a social studies teacher at Louis E. Dieruff High School in Allentown. I have been a high school teacher for 18 years and work very hard to provide my students with the best classroom learning experience. I am able to listen and see both sides of an issue before making an informed decision regarding the best course of action,” he said.

Dutt has a bachelor’s degree in social work from Mansfield University and a master’s degree in special education from Lehigh University. He is a former adjunct professor at Lehigh Carbon Community College and DeSales University.

The governance committee voted to forward all names, without recommendation, to the board of commissioners to consider and vote Dec. 9.