In this day and age when the traditional letter is fast becoming obsolete, historians, media, and the general public will have no way of keeping track of what elected and appointed officials are doing if these all-important records are not maintained.
In his most recent column, Springfield News-Leader Editorial Page Editor Tony Messenger reveals that despite the governor's decision, Matt Blunt's chief of staff and deputy chief of staff are still sending out contradictory signals:
The other thing that's clear is that (Chief of Staff Ed) Martin and Deputy Chief of Staff Chuck Pryor still don't understand the very laws they proclaim to be following.
During the call, state Sen. Norma Champion, R-Springfield, asked the two men how public officials could determine which e-mails are public and which ones aren't. Pryor offered this answer:
"The transitory e-mails back and forth to your assistants, your research people, constituents just asking questions, those are basically considered transitory which are not required to be retained under the Sunshine Law."
Sounds OK. But wrong again.
First, the Sunshine Law says nothing about transitory e-mails. It's the state's records retention policy maintained by the Secretary of State's office that defines what is or is not a transitory e-mail. According to that policy, transitory e-mails which can be deleted by state officials include: "Documents of short-term interest that have no documentary or evidentiary value ..." Examples include: " ... quasi-official notices including memoranda and other records that do not serve as the basis of official actions, such as holiday notices, charitable campaigns, etc."
That's not what Pryor and Martin told lawmakers on the phone. In fact, Pryor described a situation in which officials e-mailed with staff and constituents in the process of putting together a "white paper" on official state policy. He suggested the final product would be a public record, but not all the work leading up to it.
Indeed, the state's policy doesn't say that at all.
The kind of records Pryor referred to are absolutely related to public business and they're supposed to be kept for three years, according to the state's general retention policy. In fact, those are the same sorts of documents the Republican Party sought this week in a wasteful Sunshine Law request sent to most Democratic lawmakers in Missouri.
It is important that Missourians, the media that covers the governmental process, and historians who will give the final verdict at a later date have access to everything, especially in a business where it is so easy for special interests and back room deals to play a huge role in the final result.
But the importance of maintaining all documentation goes beyond just uncovering scandal and corruption. Fourteen years ago, when I interviewed former Congressman Gene Taylor about the five presidents, with whom he had worked, I pored through the Congressman's records on file at Missouri Southern. Some of the most fascinating materials were the congressman's letters to constituents concerning the events of the day, especially around the time of Watergate and President Nixon's eventual resignation.
Just as fascinating were the everyday details of Congressman Taylor's attempts to help constituents with seemingly minor problems. From those documents, I had a much more complete view of the service that Gene Taylor provided to his constituents and to his country.
That kind of portrait would not have been possible if his correspondence had not been saved. The last people who should be making decisions about what letters and documents should be maintained are people who are trying to put the best spin on issues that affect the public.
Government e-mails should not be deleted.
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