Lehigh County Commissioners Percy Dougherty and Marc Grammes, both Republicans, have announced they will not run for office in 2021. Both have cited health reasons for their decision.

This makes the race for county commissioner a wide-open contest, with a total of five seats up for election. Geoff Brace’s and Amy Zanelli’s seats will also be on the slate, but neither Brace nor Zanelli were ready, when contacted, to announce their plans.

The commissioners will this week appoint a replacement for Nathan Brown, also a Republican (5th District), who announced his resignation from the Board of Commissioners.

That 5th District Republican appointee will have to run in his or her own right for office in 2021.

A committee headed by Brace interviewed candidates for the position last week, but did not make a recommendation. Instead, Brace forwarded all four names to the full board for a vote Dec. 9. That appointment will be a Republican in keeping with Lehigh County Home Rule Charter requirements under which Lehigh County government operates.

This leaves the Republican seats all up for grabs in 2021.

The current mix is three Republicans and six Democrats. The strong showing by Democrats last year unseated Republicans Marty Nothstein and Brad Osborne, giving Democrats the majority on the board for the first time in many years.

Some Democrats largely credited Amy Zanelli with being the spark plug that boosted turnout for the Democratic sweep last year. Zanelli, who is chair of the Lehigh County Commissioners.

Zanelli is also up for re-election in 2021, but she has not announced plans to run for the seat next year.

Dr. Percy Dougherty, 77, has served as a Lehigh County commissioner since January 1994. He will stay on the board until he is replaced by the candidate elected in 2021. That transfer will happen in Janusary 2022.

Dougherty represents Lehigh County District 2, which includes the townships of Upper Macungie, Lower Macungie, South Whitehall and Alburtis.

He said he has had health issues, including a suspected stroke that may have contributed to a fall. Subsequent blood poisoning hospitalized him earlier this year.

Dougherty is a former professor of geography and geology at Kutztown University.

Dougherty said he and his wife Anne have been married since 1966. He said they enjoy traveling the world, so they planned a trip to Antarctica for 2022; a trip they had originally planned for this year until the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marc Grammes, 62, a former merchant seaman officer and engineer, said he too is resigning because of health reasons.

Grammes represents Lehigh County District 1, which includes the communities of Slatington Borough, the Borough of Coplay and the townships of Whitehall, Washington, Weisenberg, North Whitehall, Heidelberg, Lowhill and Lynn.