UPDATED! Where in the world is Samuel Wurzelbacher?

Samuel Wurzelbacher, also known as Joe the Plumber, is running against Marcy Kaptur to represent the redrawn Congressional District 9.

At least, I think he's still running.

He has a campaign committee and a website, but has been conspicuously absent from the news over the last month. That may be because of the flack he took for this:

"For years I've said, 'Put a damn fence on that border going to Mexico and start shooting...' that's how I feel. I'm not going to hide it just because I'm running for office. I want the borders protected, and I'm very adamant about that."

He made that comment on Aug. 10, PrescottNews.com reported, when he was in Arizona. Yes, Arizona - nearly 2,000 miles from his district.

He has no scheduled events listed on his website:

His last press release was June 29:

His last endorsement was three months ago:

He has kept up his Facebook page:

and his Twitter feed:

But there has been no news from him on the conventions or for Labor Day - and no reaction to comments made recently by his opponent.

This is not the way to win a campaign...

UPDATE: In conjunction with this post, this morning I sent a message to Sam via his Twitter and Facebook accounts to ask if he had any upcoming campaign events. Despite having updated both accounts, he's not yet responded...

A look at the campaign finances in Ohio's CD-9

We were having a discussion the other day about the upcoming November election pitting incumbent Democrat Marcy Kaptur against Republican Samuel 'Joe the Plumber' Wurzelbacher and Libertarian Sean Stipe in Ohio's newly-drawn 9th Congressional District.

Eventually the discussion boiled down to money. The group had few expectations of Stipe, but questions about Wurzelbacher and Kaptur.

Will Wurzelbacher be able to compete financially with Kaptur?

The general consensus was no.

Will Wurzelbacher's celebrity status as 'Joe the Plumber' lead to more contributions - or will his status be enough to overcome Kaptur's fundraising?

Again, the consensus of the group was no. In fact, with the district leaning even more Democratic as a result of the redrawing, the bigger question of the group was who would be Kaptur's replacement.

But I wondered ... just how much of an advantage would Kaptur have financially? So I decided to look at the campaign finance reports for the three. The most recent reports are the pre-primary filings which went through Feb. 15th.

Marcy Kaptur, Kaptur for Congress

Since Ohio lost congressional seats, two Republican and two Democrat districts were combined, so Kaptur faced long-time Cleveland-area incumbent Dennis Kucinich in the Democratic primary. Her fundraising and expenditures clearly reflect that this was her most costly primary challenge.

She started 2012 with just over $700,000 cash on hand. As of the end of 2011, for this election cycle, she'd raised $277,553.01. Not surprisingly, $216,000 of that was from political action committees (PACs) and other candidates.

When a candidate receives a contribution that is more than $200, they must itemized the donation and include the contributor, address, employer and occupation. As of her year-end report, Kaptur had received just under $14,000 in non-itemized contributions. That means that her reported $52,600 in individual contributions were all over $200. Not surprisingly, there are a number of individual contributions from lawyers, union employees as well as employees of companies impacted by her work on the all-powerful Appropriations Committee and its subcommittees of defense, agriculture and transportation/housing.

Her pre-primary report shows her raising another $89,002 but spending $372,684, clearly reflecting the television advertising she purchased.

As of the pre-primary, she'd raised $366,555.01 and spent $479,993.42 this election cycle, leaving her with $422,910.87 on hand.

Another requirement of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) is that donations of $1,000 or more received after the pre-primary filing but before the election must be reported within 48 hours of receipt. This is called the 48-Hour Notice Report. Between Feb. 21 and March 5, Kaptur reported another $104,300 in donations via these reports. And remember, that was just contributions over $1,000.

The only unusual donation listed, at least to those of us in the Toledo area, is a $500 contribution from a Clear Channel government affairs employee in Washington, DC. This is unusual only because of her long-time refusal to come on the local Clear Channel talk radio station 1370 WSPD.

Her expenditures were routine for a campaign - postage, phone, campaign fundraising expenses, printing, yard signs, etc. She spent just under $275,000 to a single firm for 'campaign advertising' which is probably the television buys, though it could include other types of ads (radio, newspaper) as well.

Kaptur did hire 10 campaign field workers throughout the new district and, as of the pre-primary report, had paid out $26,000 to them at a stipend of $2,500/month.

Samuel Wurzelbacher, Joe for Congress 2012

Not surprisingly, Samuel 'Joe the Plumber' Wurzelbacher didn't raise anywhere near the amounts that Kaptur did. This is partly due to his status as a first-time candidate versus hers as an incumbent, as well as his lack of a high-profile primary race.

Wurzelbacher's campaign is Joe for Congress 2012. As of the end of the year, he'd raised just over $50,000. Unlike Kaptur, the majority of his donations - 76% - come from donors giving under $200. He had only one itemized donation from within the district but did receive $2,000 from the Frost for Congress campaign (Westlake, OH) and $2,500 from the Move America Forward PAC.

As of the pre-primary, Wurzelbacher raised another $11,219.40, with 51% of that being from itemized donations (over $200), but most of that was the result of a single $2,500 donation from Herman Cain. The Western Representation PAC also donated $2,500. Wurzelbacher did not file any 48-Hour Notice reports.

Wurzelbacher's campaign finance filings do show some internal issues, perhaps due to his first-time candidacy status. Wurzelbacher was originally listed as the campaign treasurer. On December 14, the campaign filed to name Nick Marvet the treasurer. But on Feb. 24th, the FEC sent a 'failure to file' notice because the campaign had not filed the pre-primary report by the deadline. On Feb. 28th, the campaign filed again naming Wurzelbacher the treasurer.

Wurzelbacher's expenses show some interesting items. His campaign hired and paid several different fundraising firms a 15% fee for the donations they garnered on his behalf. This is a standard amount for political fundraising.

He also paid a campaign manager $9,500, less than what Kaptur spent on her field reps.

Wurzelbacher's largest expense on his reports is his own salary - roughly a third of his total expenditures so far. He's paying himself $3,842 bi-weekly (after taxes) for a total expended as of the pre-primary of $20,210. As this is a salary, he's also paying taxes and unemployment insurance on himself.

While this is certainly permissible, it is unusual and many donors tend to think twice about contributing to candidates who are paying themselves a salary from the campaign funds.

There was one other filing item that was of interest. On March 9th, the FEC requested more information from the campaign. The first financial report showed a starting balance of $7,000. The FEC requested the documentation for that amount. The Joe for Congress 2012 campaign was given until April 13th to respond with the information.

On Saturday, as I was doing the research, I did send an email to the Wurzelbacher campaign to ask about the change in treasurer as well as the salary. Again, it is certainly permissible for a candidate to pay himself a salary, but I wanted to know if donors were being told about the salary when, or prior to, their donating.

I had planned to publish this post Sunday morning. However, I received a note back from the campaign on Saturday afternoon telling me they'd forwarded my request for more information to the right party.

I understand how campaigns are, so I waited and on Sunday morning, I received a reply from a gentleman indicating he was the general consultant for the campaign, telling me that "Joe has been on a missions trip lately and he does not campaign on Sunday's, so he's been tough to get a hold of recently. We will get you an approved statement first thing in the morning for your blog post."

So again I waited. At 8:53 a.m. I received the following:

Thanks for your patience on this. To clarify, the monthly salary is $3842/month.

Also, here is a statement from Joe in regards to your two questions below:

"I'm a blue-collar worker, just like the majority of voters in the 9th District. As a common working man, I don't have a bank account with millions of dollars that I can pump into a campaign. Currently, I'm campaigning full time, and the FEC has provisions in place that allow everyday Americans to run for office and be provided a reasonable salary. This monthly salary has been reported upon in the press and been approved by the FEC."

"Since before the primary, we had made the decision to revamp and relaunch our campaign. We are currently in the middle of that process and are excited about where the campaign is headed."

As I replied to the campaign, this doesn't answer the question: Are donors told that the candidate is receiving a salary from the funds raised either when, or prior to, donating?

Additionally, while the campaign states that Wurzelbacher is being paid $3,842 per month, his filings show otherwise, as I'd detailed in my email to them. The following is a list of the salary payments:

$1,000 on 11-10-11
$3,842 on 12-15-11
$3,842 on 12-31-11
$3,842 on 1-2-12
$3,842 on 1-3-12
$3,842 on 2-7-12

While the statement provided doesn't explain, it does address the issue of the treasurer and all campaigns, but especially first-time ones, go through organizational transitions.

But when your campaign finance reports show that you're paying yourself $3,842 twice each month, responding that you're taking $3,842 once a month requires further explanation.

So, I itemized the payments for them in an email and asked them to clarify. When I get a response, I'll share it here.

Sean P. Stipe, Sean Stipe for Ohio

Sean Stipe is the Libertarian candidate in OH-9. He was uncontested in his primary and did not meet the monetary threshhold for filing with the FEC.

Summary

It is not surprising that Kaptur gets higher-dollar donations, and more of them, than Wurzelbacher. She is an incumbent and sits on the appropriations committee. The question is whether or not her pre-primary support for a highly-contested primary race will carry over into the general election.

Will her supporters and donors look at the district, which is now even more favorable to a Democrat, and decide she doesn't need the money - at least, not as much as other candidates in swing, or targeted, districts?

Will they think that Wurzelbacher is a serious threat to her?

Will Wurzelbacher's celebrity status be more of a challenge than the money her last opponent, Rich Iott, brought to the race?

While Wurzelbacher didn't need a lot of money for the primary, will he be able to capitalize on his celebrity and raise anywhere near the quarter of a million that Kaptur has on hand?

Will the fact that he pays himself a salary negatively impact his fundraising?

***
SIDE NOTE:

Over the weekend, several of us were talking and I asked about the salary issue. While one person didn't have a problem, the other five did. But the one who didn't have a problem with it wanted to know if he was paying all his withholding taxes. I informed her he was - and unemployment insurance as well.

She then questioned whether or not Wurzelbacher would be able to file for unemployment after he loses.

It's a good question and one I don't have any answer to. If you know, please share.

End Side Note
***

The next filing date for the candidates is April 15th for their quarterly report ending March 31st.

Joe the Plumber to announce decision on Congressional run

I received the following press release, but the release did not include the date of the event. In checking, I learned that the announcement is scheduled for Tuesday, October 25th. I hope Joe's campaign team takes note of this error and his incomplete sentences. He needs a proof reader for his releases:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Roman Schroeder
Email: roman@joeforcongress2012.com

Holland, OH- Samuel J Wurzelbacher, also known as Joe the Plumber, will be announcing his decision on a potential 9th District Congressional run at Tony Pakcos’ Café, 1902 Front Street, Toledo, OH 43605 at 7PM. Wurzelbacher filed as a candidate in the 9th District earlier this month. His campaign has been in an exploratory phase since that time, gauging their level of support across the district. “Good people just haven’t been stepping up to run in these important races. I want to prove that regular people can run, win, and keep their integrity intact.” Wurzelbacher will continue to weigh his options over the next week.

Mr. Wurzelbacher will be inviting a broad range of constituents from all over district to attend. There will also be a brief question and answer period. Which will be followed by a live cyber Town Hall Meeting with thousands of concerned Americans in attendance online. Additionally, the event will be streaming live over the Internet and will be viewable to thousands more on the soon to be launched campaign website. http://www.joeforcongress2012.com

Joe Wurzelbacher (Joe the Plumber) gained national prominence when he asked then presidential candidate, Barack Obama, a question about his tax plan. The conversation was captured by an ABC cameraman and Joe’s life would never again be the same.

His story came to symbolize the idea of spreading the wealth in the 2008 presidential campaign. Through massive amounts of mud-slinging and name bashing, Joe never backed down from his principles. To this day he continues to fight for the workingman so they have the opportunity to fulfill their true American dream.

Joe has been an avid outdoorsman since childhood and as a US Air Force Veteran believes very passionately in the health and happiness of our wounded soldiers.

'Joe the Plumber' makes it official - files for Congress

Joe Wurzelbacher, also known as 'Joe the Plumber' who questioned Barack Obama on the campaign trail and got him to admit that he believes in redistribution of wealth, has filed a campaign committee Joe for Congress 2012 with the Federal Elections Commission.

I'd heard that he was meeting with former candidates for Congress, including Rich Iott, and that he'd talked with several campaign consultants.

If I'm reading the new congressional district maps correctly, Wurzelbacher will not be in the 9th Congressional District, the seat currently being held by Marcy Kaptur, which means a primary against incumbent Rep. Bob Latta if he runs as a Republican.

UPDATE:
According to an interview with the local daily, he said he'd announce his intentions by Oct. 25th. He said he that if he runs, he would seek the 9th Congressional District seat even though he doesn't live in it.

NYTimes columnist says 'Joe the Plumber' shouldn't be able to publish book

Fellow Sampshere blogger Warner Todd Huston has a post on Newsbusters about the arrogance of New York Times columnist Tom Egan, who

"...wants to stop Joe the Plumber from being allowed to have his book published and calls the government oppressed blue collar man a "no good citizen" and a "no good plumber." Arrogantly, Egan imagines that Joe somehow doesn't deserve to have a book deal."

Huston, in his usual biting style, breaks down the real reason behind Egan's comments:

"Egan’s snide slap at Joe is, in the end, just meaningless, partisan hatred to no real purpose. Well, no purpose, perhaps, but to make Egan feel better about himself. That and it is a way for him to get the snarky, congratulatory back slapping he's imagines he'll get at those far left cocktail parties that he finally expects to be invited to. Sadly, in all his vast writing experience, Egan seems never to have run across the word “humility.”
...
The man just cannot stand it when anyone else has success, especially if it is someone with an opposing political ideal."

Make sure you read his whole post.

Governor places director on suspension over records search

Governor Ted Strickland announced he is placing Helen Jones-Kelley, the director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, on a one-month unpaid suspension as a result of the report issued by the Inspector General regarding her searches of confidential databases for information on Sam "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher.

He rejected a request from Senate President Bill Harris to fire her for abusing her power and authority.

UPDATED:

Ohio Auditor of State Mary Taylor issued the following statement regarding the one-month suspension of Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Director Helen Jones Kelley:

"Ohio citizens should have the highest confidence that the private information that state and local government have access to is protected and will not be used for political or other inappropriate purposes. According to the report released today by the Inspector General, this basic and fundamental trust was broken by Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Director Helen Jones-Kelley. We need to restore accountability and transparency in government and send a message to Ohioans that the misuse and abuse of personal information will not be tolerated. Government leaders need to be responsible for the actions of their employees so I urge Governor Strickland, who campaigned on the promise of running an ethical administration, to ask for the resignation or terminate Ms. Jones-Kelley immediately."

'No legitimate reason' to check Joe the Plumber records, Inspector General decides

Well, duh! We all figured that one out as soon as it was made public....

The report states:

In summary, we determined that ODJFS Director Helen Jones-Kelley’s authorization to search three confidential agency databases for information on Wurzelbacher was improper, and that her use of state email resources to engage in political activity was also improper. We further find an omission on the part of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for failing to prevent a misuse of the OHLEG system by an agency contractor, and a wrongful act with the contractor for using OHLEG to access confidential information about Wurzelbacher.

...

Director Jones-Kelley’s authorization of the searches done on Wurzelbacher did not satisfy the Ohio Administrative Code requirement that access to ODJFS’ confidential database systems must be related to an “agency function or purpose.” Although the Director indicated that it was agency practice to search ODJFS databases when someone is “thrust quickly into the public spotlight,” we found no policies or procedures to support her.

...

We determined that Taxation checked its database systems twice on October 16, 2008, and a third time on October 17, 2008, in response to media inquiries about the status of a tax lien against Wurzelbacher. We interviewed Taxation’s Communications Director, John Kohlstrand, who confirmed that he coordinated with the Ohio Attorney’s Office in preparing a response to reporters. Taxpayer records maintained on Taxation’s data system are deemed confidential by statute and the public release of any such information is prohibited. Public information regarding the status of a tax lien may be released by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office after a lien is filed in court. All of the information appearing in the media about Wurzelbacher’s tax lien was consistent with public information released by the OAG and available from the Lucas County Clerk of Courts.

We found that Taxation’s searches were not inappropriate based on criteria established by the agency and the Internal Revenue Service, which govern access to such records by authorized employees. In this case, Taxation officials checked their database to verify whether Wurzelbacher’s tax lien was still valid. We found no evidence that any confidential information was shared with anyone outside the agency.

They also said the Toledo Police Department was conducting its own investigation into the violation of the LEADS system by one of their clerks.

The IG report concludes:

"The justifications she (Dir. Jones-Kelley) offered in support of her decision were not credible, and they included contradictions, ambiguity, and inconsistencies. The information she said she relied on emanated from unreliable sources, such as blogs and hearsay. Therefore, we find that she had no reasonable basis to authorize searches on Wurzelbacher."

Now - will she be disciplined? She's been on paid administrative leave since the investigation began, but not because of this issue - rather, for using her state computer and emails for political purposes.

The report will be sent to the office of Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien for review.

Records clerk faces discipline over running Joe the Plumber records

Just in from Toledo Police Chief Mike Navarre

PRESS RELEASE

Michael J. Navarre, Chief of Police

Toledo Police Records Clerk, Julie McConnell, has been charged with “Gross Misconduct” for allegedly making an improper inquiry into a state database in search of information pertaining to Samuel Wurzelbacher on October 16, 2008.

The record inquiry was made for a non-law enforcement purpose, which is a violation of both department policy and state policy governing the use of the Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS) database.

Clerk McConnell was hired by the Toledo Police Department in April 1995. She is assigned to the Investigative Services Bureau and is a member of AFSCME Local 7.

Consistent with the bargaining agreement, a disciplinary hearing will be scheduled within the next ten days on a date and time mutually agreed upon by the City AFSCME Local 7.

No word on WHO she ran the records for...but we know it was for a member of the media.

Media made request for Joe the Plumber's records, Toledo mayor admits

Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner admitted yesterday that a member of the media made the request of the Toledo Police Department for Joe 'the Plumber' Wurzelbacher's records, NewsTalk 1370 WSPD is reporting. The comments were made in response to questions during an unrelated press conference.

Finkbeiner did not say which news outlet, nor which reporter, made the request. He also did not identify the individual who ran the report.

As I've explained, accessing the LEADS computer data is a serious violation that can result in internal discipline, criminal charges and even loss of access for the law enforcement agency. Having overseen access to LEADS as the Clerk of Toledo Municipal Court, I know for a fact that Toledo Police Chief Mike Navarre knows who ran the report, when and where.

The sad part about this incident is that records from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and all court records are public and can be obtained through regular public records requests, so there was no need to ask someone in the Police Department to violate rules and state law in order to get the information. The only advantage to having the LEADS report over the public records would be the speed with which it could be obtained.

But this certainly raises questions about how often this same media outlet or reporter has made similar requests in the past - and how they've used the data they obtained.

In related news: The director of the Ohio Department of Jobs & Family Services Director Helen Jones-Kelly, told the Columbus Dispatch that she approved a check on Wurzelbacher just after the Oct. 15 presidential debate to see whether he was current on child support payments.

She says there were no political reasons behind the decision, stating that the department often runs such checks on people - like when they win the lottery. That's a completely different matter, in which winnings can be taken to pay any back chid support that might be owed. A mention during a political debate should NOT result in a query, especially because at the time of the mention, there was nothing to indicate Joe was even married, or divorced, or had kids or even owed child support.

As for the approval not being political? According to OpenSecrets.org, Helen Jones-Kelley made the maximum donation of $2,300 to the Barack Obama presidential campaign on July 31, 2008.

H/T Riehl World

Who at TPD ran Joe the Plumber's records?

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that several state databases may have been accessed illegally to obtain information on 'Joe the Plumber,' including one through the Toledo Police Department.

"The State Highway Patrol, which administers the Law Enforcement Automated Data System in Ohio, asked Toledo police to explain why it pulled BMV information on Wurzelbacher within 48 hours of the debate, Hunter said.

The LEADS system also can be used to check for warrants and criminal histories, but such checks would not be reflected on the records obtained by The Dispatch.

Sgt. Tim Campbell, a Toledo police spokesman, said he could not provide any information because the department only had learned of the State Highway Patrol inquiry today."

As the former Clerk of Toledo Municipal Court I was responsible for my office and employees' access of the LEADS (Law Enforcement Automated Data System) program. I was also a certified user. I can tell you that the restrictions on when and how it is used are limited and specific - and using it in an illegal manner is not only a criminal offense, it can result in an entire agency losing access to the system.

LEADS gives users access to multiple sources of data. It's used by law enforcement, courts and prosecutors across the state to inquire on information about driving records, vehicle ownership and outstanding warrants. Through the LEADS connections to other agencies, users can review drivers license images, past criminal histories or parole status. LEADS also serves as the gateway to the National Crime Information Center, (NCIC). Through NCIC, LEADS users have access to the same information on a national and international level.

Individuals having access to LEADS have to take a periodic test - the first question of which was always about proper use of the system. From the LEADS manual:

Data accessed through LEADS, NCIC, NLETS and other intra-state systems is restricted to the use of duly authorized law enforcement and/or criminal justice agencies and is not to be sold, transmitted or disseminated to any non-law enforcement agency, non-criminal justice agency or unauthorized person. Participating agencies have assumed responsibility for system security and integrity when they execute the LEADS participation agreement (LEADS Administrative Rule 4501:2-10-13).

Audit trails of all activity through the system are maintained for six years. Those audit trails are extremely detailed and identify the agency, the actual computer terminal, the user, the date/time, and the specific activity. While checks on warrants and criminal histories were not part of the public record available to The Dispatch, such activity was captured and included in the audit - and is known to the State Highway Patrol, who oversee the system, and to the Toledo Police Department now that's they've been made aware of the query.

The identify of the person who accessed the data is known and whoever it is should be held accountable. Additionally, I expect TPD will also want to know with whom the information was shared and how any other people might have used the data, including if it was used for a political purpose.

Having worked with TPD Chief Mike Navarre, I am confident this violation will be taken seriously and any unauthorized access will be appropriately punished. I call on him to share with the public what he finds out in his internal investigation and what action, if any, he takes.

"John" the plumber making robocalls for Obama

During my radio show, Eye On Toledo, last night, (podcasts available here) a caller related a phone call received from "John" the plumber encouraging a vote for Obama.

After the show I got this email:

Hi Maggie,

I heard a caller tell you she had received a call from John The Plumber tonight on your program. When I came home tonight, I found a recorded call on my answering machine from John The Plumber. It made me very disgusted and when I called back the number that was on the caller id (877-622-6264), there is a pre-recorded voice of Obama.

Thanks for all you do!

Eileen

Do they think people are dumb enough to thing "John" is our Joe the plumber? Or did they pick the name "john" as a play on words?

Who knows, but they are obviously in spin mode trying to negate the impact our Joe has had on the Obama campaign.

As we all know: in campaign, when you're defending, you're losing.

UPDATE: Nixguy has more on similar efforts in other states.