MY BOAT: Arndt ready to sail away from politics

PORT CLINTON — State Rep. Steve Arndt is finally going to take the long boat trip he and his wife have been planning for years.The Port Clinton Republican is retiring from the Ohio House on July 31. But he's beginning his trip Monday, leaving Port Clinton on his boat, the Hi Ho.He plans to go through the western Great Lakes, down the Mississippi River and along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts before completing his odyssey and returning to Port Clinton.It won't be a fast trip."We have no time frame," said Arndt. "At the earliest, it could be two years. It could be closer to three to five."He does plan to leave the journey periodically to fly to family events and holiday celebrations.The couple have a condo in Port Clinton but live on the boat in the summer, a habit Arndt said has taught them what's needed for a long trip.Arndt, 65, will continue trying to help constituents for about two weeks, checking his cell phone calls and emails until the new state representative, Douglas "DJ" Swearingen, takes over Aug. 1. After that, Arndt said, he's done with politics.The lawmaker met his wife, JoAnne, when he was 18. They got married when he was 19. His political career began when he was 24, although it was by accident, Arndt said.He was working as a businessman and farmer in Elmore when he was asked to run for city council.Arndt then became an Ottawa County commissioner. He served as commissioner for 27 years."It was always just going to be for one term," he said. "There was always something else to do."During his last few years as commissioner, Arndt plotted his long boat trip, buying a salvaged 35-foot boat in Massachusetts. He needed a boat that was ocean worthy but also had a shallow draft that could navigate rivers. He settled on a Landfall 35 built in 1983, gutting and rebuilding the interior.Arndt and JoAnne are planning a trip on what's known as the Great Loop of North America. They'll head west through Great Lakes such as Huron and Michigan and then go down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. They'll travel down the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to Mobile, Ala., and then go east along the Gulf Coast to Florida, detouring to the Bahamas and the Caribbean.After that, the couple will go north along the Atlantic Coast and then journey back to Lake Erie, although an exact route hasn't been chosen.Arndt had planned to retire as a county commissioner and take his trip. His doctor had urged him to retire. But fate intervened.Steve Kraus, a Republican state representative, had only been in office for a few months when he was convicted of theft in July 2015 in a trial in Port Clinton and then removed from office.That created a vacancy, and Republicans in Erie and Ottawa counties were invited to apply.Arndt said Republicans and Democrats in the area urged him to seek the post.Arndt prepared his letter of application and a résumé, but he had mixed feelings. He made three separate trips to the post office to mail the application. Each time, he balked and went home with the envelope because he really wanted to retire and take his boat trip.Arndt said he finally applied at the last minute, electronically, at the urging of his wife. JoAnne, whom Arndt refers to as "the admiral," dislikes politics but thought her husband would have regrets if he didn't take the opportunity to serve, Arndt said.So Ardnt won the appointment as state representative, putting in long hours and winning two elections to keep his seat.Arndt said he timed his departure to make sure the district would have a state representative at all times. The district went without a House member for months after Kraus was ejected.Arndt said he learned constituents need to have someone they can call for help. An aide in the office isn't good enough, he said."If you have a Medicaid issue, the aide can contact on my behalf, but it's on my behalf," he explained. "Sometimes it really takes a member to make a phone call."Arndt said he regrets that he won't be in Columbus to vote on the final budget and the final bill to save the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant. Work on both is running late; the new state budget year began July 1."All of that stuff should have been done," he said.He said going on a long trip is a fantasy many people have for their retirement."We are doing it by boat," he said. "A lot of people would do it by motor home." Steve Arndt stands on his sailboat, Hi Ho, on Wednesday, July 10, 2019, in Port Clinton.Steve Arndt gets off his sailboat on Wednesday, July 10, 2019, in Port Clinton.Steve Arndt stands on his sailboat, Hi Ho, on Wednesday, July 10, 2019, in Port Clinton.