Profiles of opposing candidates
Mark Arndt seeks re-election
Mark Arndt first became a Morgan County commissioner in January of 1994, before the ubiquitous use of computers, cell phones and email. He served 12 years, until term limits that were established by his second term then capped his service in 2004.
In 2016, Arndt won the seat again, with a platform of commonsense government that protected property rights, agriculture, the oil and gas industry and small business. He said much of the job remains the same after all this time.
“We don’t have a county manager, so we are the county managers. So that’s why our presence is needed. It’s a full-time job,” Arndt said. “It really is a lot of administrative work; it’s not all policy.”
Of course, some things have changed. Arndt said the balancing act of protecting agriculture and property owners in agriculture zones has become more challenging, as has hiring certain positions in the county.
“You see a bit more conflicts there, and it’s important to be able to balance that,” Arndt said.
He said his goal in government is to be fiscally conservative and hire competent staff.
“The highest priority is probably seeing to it that we do things economically solid when we make those decisions about what we purchase at the county level when going forward,” Arndt said. “This board has the tax payer as the front of the line.”
Arndt was a farmer before he became county commissioner, and still helps farm with the help of his family.
“I found this very rewarding. I met people and learned things that never in my lifetime I would never have a chance to learn,” Arndt said. “There’s so much about employment law, insurance. Every bill that the county pays comes across his desk because we have to approve those bills.”
The knowledge Arndt has accumulated over his time with the county is one of his largest selling points in the election.
“It takes a long time to learn this job. I always feel like the benefit to the voters (and) to the taxpayers is you’ve already paid for my education, use it,”
Arndt said. “It’s not about just sitting here in deciding yes or no on hearings. It’s truly about administrative items that we do and when you think about employment law all the things that you have to see to that the county’s doing.”
Arndt believes that experience will be useful in county business, where he hopes to diversify the business sector to continue growth.
“What I hear young people say is there’s nothing for me here, there’s no jobs here, and there’s some truth to that and I think it’s important that we work on that in a diverse economy that tries to get our kids back here. That’s the only way our Main Street and our stores survive is more people living here and shopping here,” Arndt said.
This will be necessary, Arndt said, for a strong rebound after COVID-19 hurt many Morgan County businesses.
“I was here when they closed the beef plant, closed the sugar factory, oil and gas tanked, and it wasn’t a very pretty place,” Arndt said. “That diversity in what we have in Morgan County is going to be important to our survival.”
Arndt, a Republican, is facing off against independent candidate Shawn Greenwell for the District 1 Morgan County Commissioner seat in the upcoming general election, which will be decided on Nov. 3. Early voting is currently underway.