ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The chairman of the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners will seek reelection in 2025.
Democrat Geoff Brace, who represents the county’s 4th District, announced his plans Thursday.
District 4 consists of Allentown wards 4-8, 10-11, and 17 along with South Whitehall Township.
“While many parts of this great country have struggled to rebound from the Great Recession and a global pandemic, Lehigh County is leading the way in Pennsylvania,” Brace said in a prepared statement, touting the area’s strong economy and safe environment.
Brace has been in office more than a decade, running unopposed and winning the seat vacated by Daniel McCarthy in 2013.
Brace served as the commissioners' vice chair in 2018 and has been chairman since 2021.
As commissioner, Brace has focused on the future of the Cedarbrook Skilled Nursing Facility. Additional priorities have included new resources for violence prevention, homelessness services, reentry efforts, affordable housing and easing the opioid epidemic, he said.
Brace said his priority now is building on the progress.
“Over the past four years, Lehigh County has done more than it ever has to address national issues right here in our own backyard,” Brace said in the release.
“We’re addressing the critical issues of our time through more affordable housing, strengthening our 911 system, providing more resources for first responders, fighting back against open-space-eating mega developments, saving lives by holding opioid manufacturers and distributors responsible for their addiction-causing practices, launching crisis mental health services that will save lives, approving the strongest non-discrimination ordinance in Pennsylvania, and showing fiscal responsibility in the process.”
Brace will host an official campaign kick-off and petition signing party Feb. 20 at the Dance Dietitian, 602 N. St. Cloud St. in Allentown. More information about his re-election platform can be found at www.geoffbrace.com.
Brace is the third candidate to announce for a Lehigh County commissioners seat.
Commissioner Antonia Pineda, a Republican in District 1, announced this month that he will seek re-election.
Patrick M. Leonard, a Republican, is running in the county’s 5th District with the support of outgoing Commissioner Jeffrey Dutt, who announced in December he would not seek re-election.
