Running for town commissioner, Mr. Mazaleski said recently he’s had the opportunity to meet many residents here, and he’s anxious to put his many skills to work for them.

Mr. Mazaleski, 70, is a former scientist for the Environmental Protection Agency who has experience in myriad fields, including disease prevention and occupational safety — a career description that he believes is perfectly tailored to help the town through its current water and sewer woes, his primary goal throughout his campaign.

"I know I can do it," Mr. Mazaleski said. "I have all the education and training."

Mr. Mazaleski studied education and biology as an undergraduate; later earned a master’s degree in sanitary science and public health and also holds a doctorate in preventative medicine and public health. He has also worked as an environmental toxicologist.

Mr. Mazaleski said there is little room for simple criticism of town officials who may or may not have dealt with its sewer capacity and other public utilities in the most beneficial ways. It’s time, instead, to take a more proactive stance, he said.

"This thing’s been going on for over 20 years," he said. "It’s the old type of pipe. It’s broken down over time and they’re at the point you can go down near Rutter’s and stick your hand down into the sewer pipe. When it floods, that goes to North Seton Avenue. My concern is the serious environmental problems you could have — hepatitis A, cholera, typhus," Mr. Mazaleski said. "If the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) came up here and saw that, they’d jump through the roof."

He also wants to ensure the town does not have any lead feeder lines for its public water, a growing concern in the D.C. area’s public schools.

"We’ve got to identify what we have," he said. "We’re going to have to get more grants. We could go out, too, and ask for public donations, from people and corporations that can do it. ... I know if we get the right person, we could get some help."

He said if the town waits too much longer, prices for necessary work will only continue to rise.

Mr. Mazaleski also favors a southern route for a possible bypass around the town, which could alleviate congestion on the town’s streets.

"It shouldn’t go through a residential area and it should be studied thoroughly," he said. "Also, the second reason (for a southern route) is we’re sweating these big terrorist attacks. ... That would be a way to get (traffic from D.C. and other areas) up to I-81 and all those major highways so you won’t be jammed up. The state and federal government should pay for that. But, again, we could seek other donations."

In terms of the town’s future residential growth, Mr. Mazaleski said it’s "impossible to have zero growth."

"Maryland’s controlling (the town) right now by saying 20 (sewer) hook-ups," he said. "Homes in Brookeville that they’re building, they’re going to lose money if they don’t finish this work.

"Anybody new that can afford the homes and pay the $8,000 to $10,000 hook-up fee, that pays for the sewer lines. I’m in favor of the Bollinger annexation, based on what we’ll get for the sewer lines."

He worries that any further time the sewer system’s repairs will take could bring the town closer to the brink of spreading some very serious diseases.

"We’ve got no time to fool around with the state or anyone else," Mr. Mazaleski said. "They’ve got to get that fixed right now."

He has even suggested that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could do the work as a training exercise, saving both the town and the federal government some money.

Mr. Mazaleski said the ground here is "sacred. They had a saint that walked around here and right up the street. You just can’t let the area from here to Gettysburg go down the tubes. It’s not a regular place."

He is not in favor of increasing taxes to achieve his goals, however.

"The people here can’t afford any more," he said.

Mr. Mazaleski also noted that he has experience in ground-breaking drug prevention programs from work he performed in upstate New York for middle and high school-aged children.

Mr. Mazaleski and his wife, Charlotte, have four grown children and eight grandchildren, most of whom live in the Frederick County area.