Career

Wachtmann is president of Maumee Valley Bottling, Inc. and a partner in Culligan Water Conditioning. When incumbent Chuck Earl decided to not seek another term in 1984, Wachtmann sought to replace him and won. He served seven more terms in the House, until 1998.

With the enactment of term limits, Wachtmann was nearing the end of his eligible tenure in the House. However, with incumbent Senator M. Ben Gaeth also facing term limits, Wachtmann ran for the Senate. Facing Democrat Timothy Holtsberry in the 1998 election, Wachtmann won with 65.91% of the electorate. In his 2002 reelection bid, he won with over 69.5% of the vote against Democrat William Flanary.

Wachtmann served as Senate Health Committee Chairman, and during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, delivered water to the devastated areas of New Orleans.

Ohio House of Representatives, Second Tenure

In late 2005, Wachtmann, facing term limits in the Senate, announced that he would seek an Ohio House seat in 2006, which was an open seat. He had opposed in the primary by Paulding County Commissioner Tony Burkley. He won with 63.73% of the vote over Burkley. In the general election, he defeated Democrat Angie Byrne with 56.23% of the vote. Wachtmann served again as Chairman of the House Health Committee.