Lehigh County Commissioners, with no discussion, voted for Emmaus resident Jeffrey Dutt to replace 5th District Republican Nathan Brown in a vote Dec. 9.

With a 7-1 vote Dutt was selected from a field of four candidates.

Dutt, a former Whitehall Township Commissioner and a current social studies teacher at Louis L. Dieruff High School, will take the seat formerly occupied by Brown who resigned citing career obligations as the reason.

In his application, Dutt touted his ability to work with the opposing party.

“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 75 committee, a member of the fall festival committee and eventually president of the Whitehall Active Community Center, Inc.”

Only one other candidate, Diana L. Inglis, of Bethlehem, got one vote, that from Commissioner Percy Dougherty.

In other business, the commissioners completed the final step in securing Juneteenth, or June 19, as a paid Lehigh County holiday when the board approved an amendment to the 2021 budget setting aside the money to fund payroll and related expenses.

Commissioners approved the measure 6–2 with commissioners Dougherty and Dan Hartzell voting against the measure.

Both commissioners expressed support for the sentiment, but opposed the creation of a new paid holiday on fiscal grounds.