Records don't support plumber snoop

Columbus Dispatch:

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 today that it had no records involving prior checks of the type that Director Helen Jones-Kelley authorized on "Joe the Plumber."

However, agency spokesman Brian Harter said while there are no records, Ohio's inspector general has been provided with "several examples of the practice." He could not provide details.

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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 may have come into money, Jones-Kelley cited a case where a lottery winner was found to owe child support. State law requires checks on lottery winners of $600 or more to determine if they owe support.

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It seems pretty clear she was using state resources in an attempt to discredit someone who had asked her candidate a question that he did not handle well. It is ironic that the local paper is using the open records act to find out whether she violated someones privacy.