Kylan Lewis has announced he is seeking the Republican nomination for chairman of the Covington County Commission.

Lewis is a Covington County native who retired here after a career in aerospace engineering and industrial project management. He spent his career in Houston, where he helped put 12 astronauts on the moon, and managed projects to build refineries, chemical and power plants.

Lewis said his family has been in Covington County since the early 1800s.

“I would have preferred to live here all my life but sometimes events have a way of changing things,” he said.

The county’s future is as bold as its residents are willing to dream, he said.

“That dream will not happen on pothole, washboard roads as we now have,” he said. “We can do better than we have been doing or continue to accept things as—‘well, that’s just the way things are and my vote just don’t make no difference no how,’ or, you can come go with me into a future that I am confident is destined to be great for all of us.”

Lewis said he has always tried to be a giver, not a taker.

“My wife, Ann, and I quickly reconnected with friends and discovered new ones when we came back 10 years ago,” he said.

Lewis said he stays busy and “brings personal, moral and ethical qualities, along with government, business and life experiences that will be beneficial to this county.”

He said his only promise is to “listen, be fair, and bring a sense of honor and respect to the job.”

Alabama’s party primaries are set for Tues., March 13, 2012.