Howard Wagner, who spent 36 years in Jefferson County politics, died today (Dec. 8). He was 74.
Mr. Wagner served as Jefferson County circuit clerk from 1987 through 2014.
Before that, he was an associate judge on the old Jefferson County Court from 1979 to 1984, when the County Court’s name was changed to the County Commission. Then, for two years, he was a county commissioner.
Ryan McKenna, a family friend who roomed with Mr. Wagner’s son, Wes, in Jefferson City when both were state representatives, said he couldn’t confirm the cause of Mr. Wagner’s death but said he had been hospitalized for some time and was on a ventilator.
“He was like an uncle to me,” McKenna said. “This is very hard for me, and for his entire family.”
Ryan McKenna’s father, Bill McKenna, also a former state legislator, said Mr. Wagner “was a great guy, honest as the day is long. Very sorry to hear.”
Mr. Wagner, a Democrat, lost only one election during his political career, when in the 1992 August primary, Judy Moriarty defeated him and two others in a four-candidate race for Missouri Secretary of State.
After Mr. Wagner graduated in 1964 from De Soto High School, he served in the Navy during the Vietnam War.
He married Julie Lewis, the daughter of longtime state Rep. William “Bud” Lewis, leading Mr. Wagner to his entry into politics.
During Mr. Wagner’s tenure on the County Court-County Commission, he and his fellow judges-commissioners established the first public sewer districts in Jefferson County. They moved the county toward re-instituting planning and zoning controls and submitted sales taxes to voters to fund the primary functions of county government, rather than relying on property taxes.
As the county’s circuit clerk, Mr. Wagner oversaw the records of the county’s 23rd Judicial Circuit before his retirement in 2014.
“I’m very proud and honored the people of this county allowed me to serve all these years,” Mr. Wagner said in a 2014 interview. “And I hope I did some good.”
Mr. Wagner’s wife also retired in 2014, after running the De Soto License Office for 22 years. The two had three children, Meagan, Aaron and Wes, who after eight years in the state Legislature served for 10 years as Jefferson County Clerk.