Lehigh County Commissioners last week interviewed Republican candidates to replace recently-resigned Nathan Brown in the 5th District.

The Governance Committee, chaired by Commissioner Geoff Brace, conducted the interviews. He was expecting five candidates to appear via the internet meeting program Zoom, but one, Vince Tucciarone of Coopersburg, did not show for the interview.

Wanda Mercado-Arroyo of Center Valley applied, but later withdrew her name from consideration.

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

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

Mercer submitted his resume to the county in which he said, “I have a growing interest in politics and feel this would be a good opportunity to serve my neighbors in the Lehigh County. I believe I can make unbiased decisions to help improve the quality and prosperity of the citizens in the Lehigh County.”

“I have lived in Lehigh County for over 10 years and worked in and around the 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 the Lehigh County, it is the citizens we choose to serve.

Mercer is pursuing a BS at DeSales University.

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

Englis described herself as a moderate Republican, saying “partisanism (sic) is in my blood.” She was referring to the fact that 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 resumè, 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 with a BS in chemical engineering, I began working at Fuller Company (which became FLSmidth in 2001).

Englis said she has “been very involved in our community through volunteering at St. Luke’s Hospital and 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.”

Englis has a BS in chemical engineering from Lehigh University.

Commissioner candidate airline pilot Joe Vichot, a resident of Upper Saucon Township, said he moved to Lehigh County in 2017.

Vichot, a former USAF fighter pilot, said he is a member of the Lehigh County Republican Committee and that he “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,” said Vichot.

Vichot expressed a concern with the “integrity of the election system.” He, a member of the 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 that Santiago challenged. When Commissioner Dan Hartzell (D) 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 that his international travel schedule could be managed to ensure he would have the time necessary to devote to the commissioner’s job.

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

Candidate for commissioner Jeffrey Dutt, a teacher in the Allentown School District, 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 that he has lived in the 5th District for only one year, because he has family in Vera Cruz and is getting acquainted with the citizens.

According to his resumè, 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 twenty-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 75 committee, a member of the Fall Festival committee, and eventually president of the 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 HS 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.”

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

The committee voted to forward all names without recommendation the Board of Commissioners to consider and vote Dec. 9.