SAN TAN VALLEY — Wayne Bachmann moved to the Johnson Ranch community nine years ago from Wisconsin for weather and a slower pace. In Wisconsin, he was a chef, then turned to restaurant management and menu development, before deciding to get out of the food business altogether.
With the move, he was looking to semi-retire, but after three or four months he decided he didn’t like having all that time on his hands. So he started getting involved in the community. He is now president of the San Tan Valley Chamber of Commerce and owns a contracting business called Star Valley Contracting, working more than he did before.
“I don’t think there’s anything comparable between Arizona and Wisconsin,” Bachmann said. “It’s just 100 percent different, and I thought that was pretty cool.”
Bachmann said politics was always lingering in the back of his mind, but he always figured it would be something he would get into later on in his life, when he would have the time to be fully dedicated to it. He also wanted to get enough life experience to become somebody who could understand the needs of different people.
He was involved in campaigns in Wisconsin but none in Arizona. He got some experience behind the scenes, becoming president of the San Tan Valley Republican Club. Then in 2014, the opportunity seemed right to become a candidate. So he threw his hat into the race for a District 8 seat in the Arizona House of Representatives. He ran then, as he does now, as a “constitutional conservative.” He wound up losing to incumbents T.J. Shope and Frank Pratt in the Republican primary, picking up 16 percent of the vote in a four-candidate race.
Bachmann said he entered that 2014 race with the understanding that his chances would be extremely limited, but the election served as a vital educational experience, learning about what it takes behind the scenes to be successful and also gaining a better understanding of the constituency.
