In the war raging between Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett and Tulsa City Councilors, the Mayor fired another volley today when, through his attorney Joel Wohlgemuth, he demanded the resignation of City Council Attorney Drew Rees.

Wohlgemuth, who sent the demand letter to Council Attorney Drew Rees contends in his letter to Rees that the position of Council Attorney is an unauthorized position.

The letter also seeks to invalidate the council’s actions concerning its probe into whether Bartlett and his chief of staff, Terry Simonson, lied to councilors about a federal police grant.

Basically this latest volley on the part of Mayor Bartlett is a move to not only completely block the City Council’s investigation of Bartlett and Siminson it would also deprive the Council of a somewhat independent legal advisor. This would leave the City Council stuck with nothing but City Attorney’s office, which is of course under the Mayor’s direct supervision.

The Tulsa City Council has had a “council attorney” since 2003 when then Mayor Bill LaFortune established the position” by transferring a senior assistant city attorney position to the council.

Since the position of Council Attorney was not authorized in the Tulsa City Charter, Wohlgemuth maintains that Rees salary is and has been “in essence, a misappropriation of fund”.

One might wish to note that while Joel Wohlgemuth is Mayor Bartlett’s “private attorney”, he has also represented the City of Tulsa to the tune of almost a million dollars in legal fees.

Read it and understand that these folks apparently hate each other:

Mayor demands resignation of Tulsa council attorney

Mayor Bartlett’s Attorney Asks Council Attorney to Resign

Mayor Bartlett’s attorney says the city charter does not allow the council to hire an attorney