If you’re just joining us, you can find Chapter 1 (Who is Russ “Wojo” Wojtkiewicz…), Chapter 2 (…the Brink of Change), and Chapter 3 (The $1,500 Leap of Faith) on my timeline. We’ve been discussing the ‘Wojtkiewicz Standard’ and the lessons in grit and logistics that shaped my career.

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The Monday Memo | Chapter 4: Three Colors, County Records, and the Secretary of State

By the early 1970s, the Lockwood Luminary wasn't just a 4-page flyer anymore. We had transformed it into a 24-page weekly powerhouse. As I mentioned in the last chapter, our Christmas edition was printed in three colors (Black, Red, and Green). In an era before digital printing, that was a high-wire act of mechanical precision.

But as the paper grew, so did our family's involvement in the "System" of Missouri.

The Lockwood Luminary was the "Paper of Record" for Dade county.  He won that county bid through bidding fair costs, honesty and proven record of delivering the legal postings accurately.  My father was also involved with the Missouri Press Association, as were almost all the newspapers in Missouri, eventually serving as its President. That role brought some of the state's most influential leaders into our orbit—most notably Jim Kirkpatrick, the legendary Missouri Secretary of State and whose family also owned a weekly paper in Warrensburg, Missouri, where I would eventually attend college.

I remember Jim Kirkpatrick well. He was the man responsible for the "Blue Book" (the Official Manual of the State of Missouri). He even stirred up a bit of a "technical" controversy by printing the Blue Book in Green to show off his Irish heritage!  He could really annoy bureaucrats and elected officials with great humor!

Meeting Kirkpatrick and others like Congressman Gene Taylor taught me a vital lesson: The "Public Record" is sacred. Whether it’s a newspaper of record or a County Clerk’s archive, the data belongs to the people. It has to be accurate, it has to be accessible, and it shouldn't be treated like a private club for "the cool kids."

In those days, the Clerk’s office and the local paper were partners in transparency. We didn't just print the news; we printed the truth of the record. My father made sure our 3,000 subscribers—sent to expats and family all over the world—knew exactly what their home town county and city government was doing.

I learned then that if you control the records, you have a duty to the citizens to be above reproach. It’s a standard I saw modeled by men like Kirkpatrick, and it’s a standard I intend to bring to the Platte County Courthouse.

Coming Wednesday in Chapter 5: Campaign Matchbooks and the "Litton Effect."

#MondayMemo #PlatteCounty #WojoForClerk #PublicRecord #Transparency #MissouriHistory #TheWojtkiewiczStandard #SystemsNotPolitics