Council plans no confidence vote against interim city attorney
By P.J. LASSEK World Staff Writer
Published: 11/30/2010
The City Council plans to take a vote of no confidence on Thursday against Interim City Attorney David Pauling, who will begin work on Wednesday. Some councilors predicted Tuesday that December "is going to be ugly," in anticipation of Pauling taking action against Council Attorney Drew Rees. During a committee meeting discussion the council had many questions about Pauling including Mayor Dewey Bartlett's motive behind his hiring.
Councilors noted Pauling's statements to the media about his position that the charter does not allow for a council attorney. One councilor noted that Pauling and the mayor's personal attorney Joel Wohlgemuth were seen meeting together in the mayor's office.
Bartlett has aggressively sought to have Rees' post returned to the Legal Department. Bartlett and Wohlgemuth have maintained for months that Rees is an employee of the city's Legal Department and therefore is managed by the mayor. They also contend that the City Charter does not provide for a City Council attorney.
The council contends that Rees is its employee, in a job that was legally established by former Mayor Bill LaFortune and posted by the Human Resources Department
Read more from this Tulsa World article at
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20101130_11_0_hrimgs221339