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NEDERLAND — The race for the open Jefferson County Commissioners Precinct 2 seat just got a little thinner.

In front of the Dutch Windmill Museum in Nederland Thursday afternoon, Emmett Hollier announced he is dropping out of the race, saying his heart is not into it.

The seat opened due to the early retirement of longtime commissioner Brent Weaver.

“This has been a difficult decision for me since I pride myself on making good decisions and moving forward with those decisions with great gusto and energy,” Hollier said. “I have wrestled with this situation for weeks now, but I do believe this is in the best interest of our community and it will be the right choice for me.”

By announcing his decision this week, Hollier said it gives others who would like to serve the opportunity to get in this race months before the filing window.

“And I encourage others who might be interested to join current candidate, Shaun Miller, in this race,” he said. “I appreciate your understanding and continued support. I will always be involved in our community trying to make it a better place for us all. God Bless our community, our military, our first responders and our Veterans.”

Hollier serves as a Ward 3 representative on the Nederland City Council. However, he is expected to formally vacate that seat Monday, when the city council swears in Randy Sonnier Jr., who won a special election July 24 to fill the seat left vacant when Hollier first announced his decision to run for county commissioners.

Hollier works for natural gas and pipeline company Enbridge.

When he began more than 30 years ago, the company was known as Texas Eastern.

Today, Embridge is headquartered in Calgary, Canada, with its natural gas pipeline headquarters in Houston.

Hollier previously told Port Arthur Newsmedia he was raised to be a servant in the community, seeing his father as an example through active participation in the Catholic Church in Groves.

Miller announced in February he was going to run for County Commissioner Precinct 2.

Darrell Bush, who is currently representing the precinct, told Port Arthur Newsmedia his representation is on an interim basis and would not be extended with a future election campaign.