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Michael Kurtianyk looks forward to a day when more people live and work in Frederick County.

It is a dream that has led Kurtianyk to announce his candidacy for a seat on the Frederick Board of County Commissioners in this year's election.

"One of the reasons I am running is for my daughters," he said. "I want to create a county where they can live here and work here."

Kurtianyk and his wife, Brenda, are the parents of 8 1/2-year-old twin girls, Alexis and Tara, and live in Middletown.

This is Kurtianyk's first campaign for political office. "I've done a lot of service [volunteer work] since I moved here in 2000, and it's a logical progression to do it for the whole county."

Kurtianyk wants to create more jobs for Frederick County.

"These are tough economic times and we need to focus on business retention, business expansion and business recruitment," he said. "I want my girls to live here and work here, so one day we don't have to travel across country to see our grandchildren."

Kurtianyk filed his paperwork to run for commissioner in January, and since then has been on the campaign trail meeting with county residents.

"I'm talking with people and a lot of what they talk about is jobs, jobs and job security," he said.

Kurtianyk said he is also talking with municipal leaders who say they want a better working relationship with county commissioners.

Several municipal leaders have butted heads with county officials recently due to the county's update of the comprehensive plan, a blueprint of how the county will grow in the next 20 years. Town and city leaders claim that commissioners have formulated a plan that will make it more difficult for them to annex land for development.

"I've spoken with municipal leaders and they reinforce the problems with the relationship when it comes to the issue of growth," Kurtianyk said.

If elected, Kurtianyk said he wants a 24-month halt on the construction of an incinerator, or "waste-to-energy facility," as some call it because it burns waste to make electricity. The break would give the county time to study other solutions that could include more recycling in schools, petitioning the county's chamber of commerce to reward businesses that recycle and looking for a new site to build the incinerator.

The incinerator is planned for the county-owned McKinney Industrial Center, which has come under fire because of its proximity to the historic Monocacy National Battlefield.

Residence: Middletown

Date of birth: Dec. 13, 1965

Party: Democrat

Education: In 1988, earned a bachelor's degree in English and a second bachelor's degree in education from Syracuse University. In 1990, earned a master's degree in English education from Syracuse University.

Work experience: A realtor with Mackintosh Realtors.

Top three issues:

-Focus on business retention, business expansion and business recruitment.

-Changing the county's current commission form of government to charter, with a county executive and council. A charter writing board would be established, with voters making the final decision in a special election.

-Creating a better working

relationship between the county commissioners, the eight-member Frederick delegation to the Maryland General Assembly and

municipal leaders.

Campaign funds: $2,500 in

contributions.

Other affiliations: Past president of the Fredericktowne Rotary. Vice president of Frederick County Public Libraries' board of trustees and treasurer of the Frederick County Association of Realtors.

Web site: www.michaelk2010.com