DaytonDailyNews.com

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Highway Patrol has spent $73,673 on around-the-clock security protection for Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, according to information the patrol provided to the Dayton Daily News.

Gov. Ted Strickland approved security for the two officials, both Democrats, after they received threats during the heated presidential election campaign.

State law authorizes Strickland to direct the highway patrol to provide security to state government officials.

Investigations into threats against both Brunner and Jones-Kelley still are open, although security for Jones-Kelley ended on Nov. 25, according to the highway patrol. Security for Jones-Kelley began Nov. 5.

Costs for Jones-Kelley's security through Nov. 22, the last date for which information was available, were $20,458. Jones-Kelley of Clayton is currently on a one-month suspension without pay for her role in the "Joe the Plumber" case and for using her state e-mail account to raise money for Democrat Barack Obama.

Security for Brunner, which started Oct. 19, continues. Brunner's security needs will be reassessed after results of the Nov. 4 election are certified, said Jeff Ortega, a Brunner spokesman.

Costs for Brunner's security through Nov. 22 were $53,215.

In Brunner's case, police have charged Dana McArtor, 51, of Columbus with threatening a public official, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien.

A preliminary hearing for McArtor is set for Dec. 10, according to O'Brien's office.

McArtor allegedly threatened to kill Brunner during a cell phone call to her office on Oct. 17. Brunner's office got McArtor's number on caller ID, O'Brien said.

No arrests have been reported in the Jones-Kelley investigation. Two threatening e-mails were received in the governor's office referring to Jones-Kelley, according to a Nov. 1 highway patrol report.

In addition, Jones-Kelley reported that she had been receiving harassing e-mail, according to a Nov. 3 report. The reports were filed shortly after newspaper stories appeared that said Jones-Kelley had authorized searches of state databases for personal information on Samuel Joseph "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher. He became a key figure in the Ohio presidential campaign after he questioned Democrat Barack Obama's tax plans.

Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles found that Jones-Kelley improperly authorized the database searches of Wurzelbacher of suburban Toledo.

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1608 or whershey@DaytonDailyNews.com.