Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, who got his nickname from GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain after challenging Democrat Barack Obama's tax policies, filed a lawsuit yesterday in U.S. District Court in Columbus.

Wurzelbacher says his constitutional rights were violated when three officials in the Democratic administration of Gov. Ted Strickland, including Department of Job and Family Services Director Helen Jones-Kelley, looked up private information about him in state databases.

In addition to Jones-Kelley, he's suing Fred Williams and Doug Thompson.

The lawsuit was filed for Wurzelbacher by the conservative legal group Judicial Watch and Cincinnati-based attorney David R. Langdon. It seeks unspecified damages.

Wurzelbacher said at a news conference yesterday in Washington that he spoke out against Obama and campaigned for McCain because it was an "opportunity to help the country."

He said the notoriety has left him unable to find work as a plumber.

Jones-Kelley resigned last year near the end of a monthlong unpaid suspension for mining state computers for confidential information on "Joe the Plumber." The Strickland administration fired Thompson, deputy director of child support. Williams, assistant agency director, resigned effective Jan. 31.

A report by Inspector General Thomas P. Charles found that Jones-Kelley approved the database checks for no legitimate government purpose. The checks came the day after McCain repeatedly mentioned Wurzelbacher by his nickname in a televised debate with Obama on Oct. 15.

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

The actions drew outrage across the country after The Dispatch broke the story. 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.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said, "No American should be investigated for simply asking a question of a public official."

Judicial Watch gained attention in the 1990s after filing more than a dozen lawsuits against President Bill Clinton and his administration.

Jones-Kelley's Columbus attorney, H. Ritchey Hollenbaugh, declined to comment.

Dispatch reporter Catherine Candisky contributed to this report.

jriskind@dispatch.com