Director placed on leave after probe of plumber

Criticism over the background search on ‘Joe the Plumber’ rose to a fever pitch.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio’s governor placed on leave Friday an agency director who was questioned over why state computers were used to find personal information on a man who became known as “Joe the Plumber” during the presidential campaign.

Gov. Ted Strickland said in a statement that Helen Jones-Kelley was placed on paid administrative leave because of the possibility a state computer or state e-mail account was used to assist in political fundraising.

The statement didn’t mention the checks on Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, a Toledo-area man known as Joe the Plumber who became a centerpiece in the final weeks of the presidential campaign. Jones-Kelley has acknowledged that records on him held by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services that she directs were reviewed.

She has said they were part of routine checks her agency conducts when someone suddenly emerges in the limelight. State Inspector Tom Charles is investigating whether Jones-Kelley improperly authorized the search.

As Wurzelbacher’s profile was elevated in the campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, criticism over the Ohio search rose to a fever pitch.

Republican lawmakers — including Senate President Bill Harris — questioned her actions in publicly released letters. State Rep. Shannon Jones called the records review an outrage. State Rep. Bill Batchelder, a former judge, urged Strickland to put her on leave until Charles’ investigation is complete.

“No Ohioan should be subject to a ‘witch hunt’ on the whim of a public official,” he said in a statement.

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