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.

Geoff Brace and Amy Zanelli’s seats will also be on the slate, but neither Brace nor Zanelli were ready, when contacted, to announce their plans.

During the Dec. 9 meeting, commissioners appointed a replacement for Republican Nathan Brown, 5th District, who announced his resignation from the board of commissioners in October. Emmaus resident Jeffrey Dutt, a former Whitehall Township commissioner, was voted to take the seat.

Dutt will have to run in his own right for office in 2021. This makes the race for county commissioner a wide-open contest with a total of five seats up for election, and it leaves the Republican seats all up for grabs in 2021.

A committee headed by Brace interviewed candidates for Brown’s seat a few weeks ago, but did not make a recommendation. Instead, Brace forwarded all four names to the full board for the Dec. 9 vote.

The appointment had to be a Republican candidate in keeping with Lehigh County Home Rule Charter requirements under which Lehigh County government operates.

The current board 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 Zanelli with being the spark plug boosting turnout for the Democrat sweep.

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 January 2022.

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

Dougherty 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 of geology at Kutztown University.

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. The trip had been set for this year until plans were changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

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