TOP ‘JOE’ SNOOP QUITS 

State agency leader, 2 others leaving over checks on ‘Plumber’

By Catherine Candisky
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, resigned last night near the end of a month long, unpaid suspension for mining state computers for confidential information on “Joe the Plumber.”

Two senior managers suspended for their roles in the scandal that spiced this year’s presidential campaign also are leaving, The Dispatch has learned. The administration fired Doug Thompson, deputy director of child support. Fred Williams, assistant agency director, resigned effective Jan. 31.

The action came soon after the Republican controlled General Assembly approved a measure cracking down on state workers who improperly conduct checks involving Ohioans’ personal information. Republicans complained that Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who promised to set a high ethical standard as governor, was letting Jones-Kelley off too lightly. Now, Strickland must decide whether to sign the bill, which Republicans say is a step toward restoring Ohioans’ trust in government. “The institution of state government and the trust is paramount and stands above any of us, and I think she made the right decision,” House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, said. Both Strickland and Jones-Kelley rejected calls for her dismissal last month after a report by Inspector General Thomas P. Charles found that the database checks that Jones-Kelley approved on Toledo-area resident Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher were for no legitimate government purpose. The checks came the day after Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain repeatedly mentioned Wurzelbacher by his nickname, “Joe the Plumber,” in a televised debate with Democratic opponent Barack Obama on Oct. 15.

Charles found that Williams and Thompson participated in Jones-Kelley’s authorization of the checks and that Thompson directed an employee to lie about the checks. That staff member reported the incident to Charles.

In response to Charles’ report, Strickland suspended Jones-Kelley for a month without pay from her $141,980-a-year- job. Thompson also was suspended without pay for a month. Williams was suspended for a week without pay.

Jones-Kelley and Thompson had been scheduled to return to their jobs Monday. Williams recently returned to work after his suspension.

“It appears she was driven out by this intense pressure on the part of the Republicans,” said Senate Minority Leader Ray Miller, D-Columbus. “I think it’s a tremendous loss. She’s an outstanding public servant who made a mistake and was disciplined for it.”

The agency’s actions drew outrage from across the country after The Dispatch broke the story in October. The paper also reported that Jones-Kelley had used her state computer and e-mail to assist the Obama campaign, providing names of potential Dayton-area contributors and helping to arrange an event for Obama’s wife, Michelle.

Administration officials announced Jones-Kelley’s resignation last night less than an hour after telling The Dispatch they were unaware of any impending departures.

Cabinet Secretary Jan Allen will serve as interim director.

Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey said Jones-Kelley was not asked to resign. “The governor values Helen Jones-Kelley’s years of public service as a dedicated advocate for the most vulnerable among us,” Dailey said. “The governor understands her decision and accepts it.”

Jones-Kelley did not respond to messages left at her Dayton-area home and on her cell phone.

In a statement released by the Strickland administration, she wrote that “it is with sadness and clarity that I have decided to resign my position as director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. This decision comes after having a time of pause, in which I realize that I continue to be used as a political postscript, providing a distraction from urgent state priorities.”

She also cited security concerns, saying: “I also remain concerned for the safety of my family and myself.”

Strickland ordered the State Highway Patrol to provide security to Jones-Kelley after she received threats because of the checks on Wurzelbacher. The protection ended Nov. 25.

Jones-Kelley told the inspector general that the checks of child-support records were run on those thrust into the public spotlight to see whether they were receiving public assistance or owed child support or unemployment-compensation taxes. Previous directors and staff members said they were unaware of such a practice, and the probe questioned the credibility of her claim.

Dispatch reporter Jim Siegel contributed to this story.

No state records show database checks before ‘Joe’

By Randy Ludlow
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH - November 14, 2008

    The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has no records to support the assertion of its now-suspended director that computer checks often are run on people “thrust quickly into the public spotlight.”

    In response to a public records request, the state agency said yesterday that it had no records involving previous checks of the type that Director Helen Jones-Kelley authorized on “Joe the Plumber.”

    However, agency spokesman Brian Harter said that although there are no records, Ohio’s inspector general has been provided with “several examples of the practice.” He could not provide details.

    Inspector General Thomas P. Charles is investigating the legality of inquiries using agency computer systems seeking personal information on Toledo-area resident Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, who had been made into a national figure by Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

    Gov. Ted Strickland placed Jones-Kelley on paid leave last Friday after e-mails requested by The Dispatch revealed that she had used her state e-mail account to help raise campaign funds for McCain’s Democratic opponent, Barack Obama.

    The Dispatch discovered that Jones-Kelley had run a check on Wurzelbacher through her agency’s child-support computer system. Jones-Kelley later said that checks also were run in public-assistance and unemployment-compensation-tax databases.

    Jones-Kelley, a Democratic appointee who contributed $5,000 to Obama campaign funds, said there were no political motives behind the checks run the day after the Oct. 15 presidential debate, in which McCain repeatedly referred to “Joe the Plumber.”

    She wrote later that “consistent with past departmental practice,” the agency had checked whether Wurzelbacher was receiving public aid or owed taxes or child support because he had indicated he had the money to buy a plumbing business.

    Republicans denounced the reason given for the checks as flimsy.

    The state agency has no policy addressing computer checks on the newly rich or famous. The agency does not keep records on whose confidential records are accessed, Harter said.

    As an example of checking on someone who might have come into money, Jones-Kelley cited a lottery winner who was found to owe child support. State law requires checks on lottery winners of $600 or more to determine whether they owe support.

    Charles, who also is digging into the use of state resources to benefit a political campaign, said his investigation “remains a work in progress.”
    rludlow@dispatch.com 

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services chief Helen Jones-Kelley authorized a check on “Joe the Plumber.”

 

HELP FOR OBAMA CAMPAIGN

E-mails get leader of state office suspended

By Randy Ludlow
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH - November 8, 2008

    Gov. Ted Strickland placed the director of the state Department of Job and Family Services on paid leave yesterday for possibly using a state computer and e-mail account for political fundraising.

    E-mails obtained by The Dispatch show that Helen Jones-Kelley’s account was used to assist the presidential campaign of Democrat Barack Obama in raising money.

    Strickland asked Inspector General Thomas P. Charles to investigate the “unconfirmed” matter, and the governor named Jan Allen, secretary of his cabinet, as acting director of the department.

    The state e-mails show that Jones-Kelley provided the Obama campaign with the names of 17 potential Dayton-area contributors ahead of the candidate’s July 11 appearance there.

    On July 8, the director offered to write a $2,500 check to the campaign to join Obama at his appearance, volunteered to contact would-be contributors and offered to help arrange an event for Obama’s wife, Michelle.

    At least one of the potential donors identified by Jones-Kelley contributed $9,600 to the Obama Victory Fund and Obama for America on July 31, according to Federal Election Commission records. Jones-Kelley also gave $2,500.

    The e-mails that led to Jones-Kelley’s suspension came to light through a public-records request by The Dispatch, said Keith Dailey, spokesman for Strickland. The newspaper requested the records Oct. 26, before Obama won Tuesday’s election.

    The inspector general already was investigating whether computers in Jones-Kelley’s department were used illegally to obtain confidential information on “Joe the Plumber,” a Toledo-area man popularized by Obama’s Republican opponent, John McCain.

    Jones-Kelley could not be located for comment. Obama’s Ohio campaign spokesman did not return calls.

    Jones-Kelley lives in Dayton and is the former director of the Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services.

    Strickland administration polices forbid the use of state time or property for election related purposes. Jones-Kelley sent a memo to all her employees on Oct. 21 reminding them of the prohibition.

    Meanwhile, the State Highway Patrol is providing security for Jones-Kelley because of numerous threats she has received regarding her agency’s checks into Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, aka “Joe the Plumber.” Sgt. Timothy Karwatske said Strickland’s office requested the security.

    After The Dispatch reported that state child-support computers were checked for potential information on Wurzelbacher, Jones-Kelley said checks are made on newsworthy figures who might have come into money.

    She later said that state computers also were used to conduct checks to determine whether Wurzelbacher was receiving welfare assistance or owed unemployment compensation taxes. Republican lawmakers suggested the checks were politically motivated, a charge denied by Strickland and Jones-Kelley.

    Ohio Republican Party Deputy Chairman Kevin De-Wine said in a news release yesterday that the Strickland administration now presides over an apparent “political party machine.”

    “The Strickland administration has already demonstrated a profound and reckless disregard for personal privacy, and now they’re apparently abusing government resources to raise political contributions,” DeWine said.

Helen Jones-Kelley is the Job and Family Services director.

 

DIFFERING EXPLANATIONS OF EVENTS

‘Joe’ check routine, worker was told

Saturday, November 1, 2008

By Randy Ludlow
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

    Vanessa Niekamp said that when she was asked to run a child-support check on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher on Oct. 16, she thought it was routine. A supervisor told her the man had contacted the state agency about his case.

    Niekamp said she didn’t know she just had checked on “Joe the Plumber,” who had been elevated the night before to presidential-politics prominence in a debate as Republican John McCain’s example of an average American.

    The reason Niekamp said she was given for checking if there was a child-support case on Wurzelbacher does not match the reason given by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

    Director Helen Jones-Kelley said her agency checks people who are “thrust into the public spotlight,” amid suggestions they might have come into money, to see if they owe support or are receiving undeserved public assistance.

    Niekamp told The Dispatch she is unfamiliar with the practice of checking on the newly famous. “I’ve never done that before, I don’t know of anybody in my office who does that, and I don’t remember anyone ever doing that,” she said yesterday.

    Democrat Gov. Ted Strickland and Jones-Kelley, both supporters of Democrat Barack Obama, have denied political motives in checking on Wurzelbacher. The Toledo-area resident later endorsed McCain. State officials say any information on “Joe” is confidential and was not released.

    Wurzelbacher has said he is not involved in a child-support case.

    Yesterday, Strickland press secretary Keith Dailey said neither the governor’s office nor Job and Family Services officials could comment because of an ongoing investigation by Ohio’s inspector general.

    Republican legislators have called the checks suspicious and Jones-Kelley’s reason for them flimsy.

    Jones-Kelley has revealed that her agency also checked Wurzelbacher to see if he was receiving welfare assistance or owed unemployment-compensation taxes.

    About 3 p.m. on Oct. 16, Niekamp said, Carrie Brown, assistant deputy director for child support, asked her to run Wurzelbacher through the computer. Citing privacy laws, Niekamp would not say what, if anything, was found on “Joe.”

    On Oct. 23, Niekamp said Doug Thompson, deputy director for child support, told her she had checked on “Joe the Plumber.” Thompson “literally demanded” that she write an e-mail to the agency’s chief privacy officer stating she checked the case for child-support purposes, she said.

    Thompson told her that Jones-Kelley said Wurzelbacher might buy a plumbing business and could owe support. Thompson said he replied that he “would check him out.”

    Niekamp, 38, a senior child-support manager, said she never heard any discussion of politics amid what her supervisors told her about the checks on Wurzelbacher.

    Worried about her $69,000-a-year job and potential criminal charges, the 15-year state employee said she went to Inspector General Thomas P. Charles on Oct. 24. She has seen employees fired, and dismissed one herself, for illegally accessing personal information in support cases. Niekamp, a registered Republican, said politics played no role in what she told investigators.

    The e-mail that Niekamp said she wrote was not among records provided yesterday to The Dispatch in response to a public-records request. Nor did the agency, as required by state law, say it withheld any records.

    Strickland spokesman Dailey later said one e-mail was withheld from The Dispatch because its release is prohibited by federal or state laws that forbid the release of information on the state’s child-support system. Dailey said he was neither confirming nor denying the existence of a case on Wurzelbacher.
    rludlow@dispatch.com 

Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher has said there is no basis for state checks.

 

Agency head defends 'Joe' searches

Thursday,  October 30, 2008 3:30 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

A state agency has revealed that its checks of computer systems for potential information on "Joe the Plumber" were more extensive than it first acknowledged.

Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, disclosed yesterday that computer inquiries on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher were not restricted to a child-support system.

The agency also checked Wurzelbacher in its computer systems to determine whether he was receiving welfare assistance or owed unemployment compensation taxes, she wrote.

Jones-Kelley made the revelations in a letter to Ohio Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, who demanded answers on why state officials checked out Wurzelbacher.

Harris called the multiple records checks "questionable" and said he awaits more answers. "It's kind of like Big Brother is looking in your pocket," he said.

If state employees run checks on every person listed in newspaper stories as buying a business, "it must take a lot of people a lot of time to run these checks," he said. "Where do you draw the line?"

The checks were run after the news media reported that Wurzelbacher was considering buying a plumbing business with more than $250,000 in annual income, Jones-Kelley wrote.

"Given our understanding that Mr. Wurzelbacher had publicly indicated that he had the means to purchase a substantial business enterprise, ODJFS, consistent with past departmental practice, checked confidential databases …," she wrote.

"Not surprisingly, when a person behind in child-support payments or receiving public assistance is receiving significant media attention which suggests that the person appears to have available financial resources, the Department risks justifiable criticism if it fails to take note and respond," Jones-Kelley wrote.

The results of the searches were not publicly released and remain confidential, she wrote. Wurzelbacher has said he is not involved in a child-support case and has not purchased any business.

Jones-Kelley wrote the checks were "well-meaning," but misinterpreted amid the heated final weeks of a presidential election.

Wurzelbacher became a household name when Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain frequently referred to "Joe the Plumber" during his Oct. 15 debate with Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama. The checks began the next day.

Wurzelbacher, who has endorsed and campaigned for McCain, had been caught on videotape challenging Obama about his tax proposals during a campaign visit to "Joe's" neighborhood in the Toledo suburb of Holland.

Republicans have painted the checks on Wurzelbacher as a politically motivated bid by Democrats to dig up dirt and discredit the McCain ally. The Obama campaign has said it has no ties to the checks and supports investigations.

The administration of Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland has said the information was not shared improperly and that there were no political motives behind the checks.

The Dispatch has uncovered four uses of state computer systems to access personal information on Wurzelbacher, including the child-support check authorized by Jones-Kelley.

She said Monday that her department frequently runs checks for any unpaid child-support obligations "when someone is thrust quickly into the public spotlight."

Republican legislators have challenged Jones-Kelley's reason for checking on Wurzelbacher as "frightening" and flimsy.

Jones-Kelly also has denied any connections between the computer checks on Wurzelbacher and her support for Obama. She donated $2,500 this year to the Obama campaign.

Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles is investigating whether the child-support check on Wurzelbacher was legal.

Republicans have painted the checks on Samuel Wurzelbacher as a politically motivated bid to dig up dirt and discredit the ally of John McCain.

   Helen Jones-Kelly: Click on Picture to See Letter of Explanation Written by Director   Joe, The Plumber

EDITORIALS

Privacy violations

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH - October 29, 2008

Officials shouldn’t be snooping for private records on Ohioans who are thrust into public eye

    Gov. Ted Strickland should order his agency directors not to snoop on private citizens who land in the campaign spotlight. Such scrutiny could have a chilling effect on the willingness of people to stand up and be counted prior to elections.
 
    It also undermines the confidence of all Ohioans that their state government is serious about protecting sensitive information.
 
    The director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Helen Jones-Kelley, confirmed on Monday that she approved a records check on suddenly famous Joe the plumber, who was mentioned frequently by John McCain in his Oct. 15 presidential debate with Barack Obama.

    Joe the plumber, real name Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, of Holland, near Toledo, was thrust into the spotlight because he told Obama at a Toledo appearance that he fears the Democratic presidential candidate’s tax proposals would prevent Wurzelbacher from buying the business that he works for
 
    Jones-Kelley said checking for child-support data on Wurzelbacher was routine, not political, citing a previous records check on a lottery winner. Checking the child-support status of someone who has come into money makes sense. But that rationale doesn’t apply to Wurzelbacher. Jones-Kelly will have to make a much better case that the records check was not politically motivated.

    Strickland, who also said there were no political motives in the data checking, apparently is giving her the benefit of the doubt.

    Access to such data is supposed to be restricted to official business of government and law enforcement.

    Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles is investigating whether the data-checking was improper or illegal. Through public-records requests, The Dispatch has determined that there were at least four checks for records on Wurzelbacher. That sounds like an effort to dig up dirt.

    Driver’s-license and vehicle-registration data about Wurzelbacher were obtained from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Also, the State Highway Patrol is investigating unauthorized access to data about Wurzelbacher in the attorney general’s office from a test account that the office shared with contractors who developed a computer network for the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police.
 
    Unauthorized and unjustified dredging of restricted government databases to find possibly embarrassing information on Americans simply for participating in democracy is unacceptable.
 
    At the very least, Jones-Kelley should be reproved, and anyone who conducted an illegal search of Wurzelbacher’s records should be prosecuted.

‘Joe’ wants justice in records searches

Endorsing McCain, man blasts Obama over his tax plan

By Randy Ludlow
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH  - October 29, 2008

    “Joe the Plumber” has contacted a lawyer but is uncertain whether he will sue over government workers rummaging through his records on state computer systems.
 
    “When I first found out, I was pretty angry, and I still am,” Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher said yesterday in Columbus during his first campaign appearance on behalf of Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
 
    The Toledo-area man, who was elevated to fame after he challenged Democrat Barack Obama over his tax policies during a street side chat, formally endorsed McCain at the Flag Lady’s Flag Store in the Beechwold neighborhood.

    Authorities in Toledo and Cleveland confirmed yesterday that workers accessed Wurzelbacher’s driving record and vehicle information through state computer systems in checks uncovered by The Dispatch.

    “It bothers me greatly,” Wurzelbacher said as he joined former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, a Cincinnati Republican, and small-business owners on a bus tour to back McCain and attack Obama’s tax policies.

    “I’d like to see justice done,” he said. “That’s just for other people who dare ask their elected officials a question. They shouldn’t have to go through the scrutiny that I’ve gone through
.”
    Citing the “spread the wealth” comment Obama offered him, Wurzelbacher expressed fears that the U.S. would become a socialist nation under the Democrat. He also agreed with a man in the audience that a “vote for Obama is a vote to the death of Israel.” Portman disagreed with that statement.

    The Obama campaign has said its candidate is not espousing socialist views, but a shift in tax policy to cut middle-class taxes and raise them slightly on those earning more than $250,000 a year.

    The Toledo Police Department announced that a records clerk improperly pulled Wurzelbacher’s information on behalf of a reporter for a Toledo television station the day after the Oct. 15 presidential debate.

    The clerk has been charged with gross misconduct and faces a disciplinary hearing, said Chief Michael Navarre. He declined to identify the TV station but said the reporter confirmed asking for a check on Wurzelbacher’s address.

    The Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency also said an employee’s computer was used to improperly access Bureau of Motor Vehicles records on Wurzelbacher. The employee denies involvement.
 
    Another access of Wurzelbacher’s information, by an outside contractor with access to an attorney general’s office test account, is being investigated by the State Highway Patrol.

    Inspector General Thomas P. Charles also is investigating why the director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services approved a check on Wurzelbacher through the state’s child-support computer system.
 
    Director Helen Jones-Kelley said that after a “team meeting,” she OK’d the check because the department often runs inquiries to check for unpaid child support on people thrust into “the public spotlight.”

    Wurzelbacher said he has custody of his 13-year-old son and neither pays nor receives child support, leaving him puzzled about why he would be checked.

    Jones-Kelley said there were no political motivations behind the check. The Democratic appointee has contributed the maximum $2,300 to the Obama campaign this year, according to Federal Election Commission records.

    Ohio Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, wrote Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland yesterday that he was disturbed by Jones-Kelley’s actions and statements. He asked for records and an explanation.

    “Ohioans are once again questioning the stewardship of their information,” Harris wrote. He also said he did not share Strickland’s confidence that there were no political overtones to the Wurzelbacher check.
 
    State Rep. William G. Batchelder, R-Medina, called for the director to be placed on leave until the investigation is complete.

    Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey attributed the Republicans’ actions to “baseless political attacks” amid a campaign in which McCain trails.

    rludlow@dispatch.com 


 Mary Leavitt, founder of the Flag Lady’s Flag Store on N. High Street, reaches out to embrace Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher on his first campaign appearance for Sen. John McCain.

FOURTH RECORDS CHECK

Family Services checks on ‘Joe’

Routine search part of policy, not politics, director says

By Randy Ludlow
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
 - October 28, 2008

    Ohio’s inspector general is investigating why a state agency director approved checking the child-support computer system for information on “Joe the Plumber.”

    Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, confirmed yesterday that she OK’d the check on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher after the Oct. 15 presidential debate, in which he was mentioned repeatedly by Republican Sen. John McCain.

    Amid questions from the media and others about “Joe the Plumber,” Jones-Kelley said she approved a check through the Support Enforcement Tracking System to determine whether he was current on any ordered child support payments. She said the check was not politically motivated.

    It is unclear whether Wurzelbacher is involved in a child-support case, and Jones-Kelley said such information cannot be publicly shared. Reports state that he lives with a 13-year-old son in suburban Toledo.

    “Our practice is when someone is thrust quickly into the public spotlight, we often take a look” at them, Jones-Kelley said, citing a case where a lottery winner was found to owe past-due child support.

    Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles confirmed that he is investigating the incident to determine whether the check on “Joe” was proper.

    The use of a state computer system to search for information on Wurzelbacher is the fourth uncovered by The Dispatch.

    Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, is satisfied that there are no political overtures to the check on Wurzelbacher, a spokesman said.

    “Based on what we know to this point, we don’t have any reason to believe the information was improperly accessed or disclosed by a state employee,” said Keith Dailey, Strickland’s press secretary.

    The state attorney general’s office said yesterday that information on “Joe” was accessed from a test account it shared with contractors who developed a computer network for the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police.

    The State Highway Patrol is investigating the “unauthorized access,” said Jennifer Brindisi, spokeswoman for Attorney General Nancy H. Rogers. Access to the account was given to the unidentified contractors four years ago, she said.

    State Highway Patrol records indicate that investigators have a suspect, who is identified as a contractor for the Ohio Department of Insurance. The patrol has seized an agency computer as evidence.

    At least four state computer checks on Wurzelbacher were conducted shortly after McCain brought up “Joe the Plumber” during his final presidential debate with Democratic Sen. Barack Obama on Oct. 15. State and local investigators are checking whether the computer systems were illegally accessed.

    Republicans have suggested that the checks were politically motivated invasions of Wurzelbacher’s privacy and attempts to dig up dirt to discredit the man. Obama’s campaign says it has nothing to do with the incidents and joined Republicans in calling for investigations.

    The attorney general’s office was unaware that contractors for the police chiefs’ association still had access to state information, Brindisi said. The contractors developed the Ohio Local Law Enforcement Information Sharing Network, which now is operated by the attorney general’s office. Security codes since have been changed and access limited to test accounts, she said.

    The Dispatch reported on Saturday that authorities are investigating why driver’s license and vehicle registration information on “Joe” was pulled from Bureau of Motor Vehicles computers.

    BMV information on Wurzelbacher also was obtained through accounts assigned to the Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency and the Toledo Police Department. Both checks are under investigation.
 
    rludlow@dispatch.com 

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher lives with a 13-year-old son in Toledo.