A former Bixby assistant city manager has filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that council members violated Oklahoma's open meeting law while handling the suspension of a city manager arrested for driving under the influence, then pushed her out of her job when she raised questions about it. Kim Coody's petition, confirmed filed on August 21, 2026, seeks to invalidate several council decisions and asks a court to force the city to release records from a closed-door executive session held in the days after the arrest.
According to News On 6, Coody alleges the Bixby City Council discussed then-City Manager Joey Wiedel's arrest and suspension without properly listing the topic on a public meeting agenda, and that the council improperly called an emergency meeting in the process. The lawsuit also claims Councilor Mike David privately communicated with other council members to rally support against her, and that she was involuntarily removed from her position after refusing a demotion, per the article's dek. The City of Bixby has confirmed it is aware of the lawsuit but said it does not comment on active litigation, the outlet reports.
The legal fight traces back to Wiedel's arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence, which Wagoner police made on May 25, 2026. According to an arrest affidavit reported by the Broken Arrow Sentinel, an EMS driver had reported Wiedel's truck veering off Highway 51, and a breathalyzer test allegedly showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.21%, nearly three times Oklahoma's legal limit of 0.08%. Court records cited by the same outlet show the arrest occurred while Wiedel was serving a one-year deferred sentence tied to a guilty plea from a prior aggravated DUI arrest in Okmulgee County in August 2025.
A City Council Scrambles the Day After
The Bixby City Council held a meeting the day after Wiedel's arrest, on May 26, 2026, where members also discussed whether Coody should serve as acting city manager. Coody's lawsuit alleges that meeting and the decisions that flowed from it violated the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act, and the petition specifically claims council records from the executive session, including audio and video recordings, should be made public. The council ultimately named Bixby Police Chief Todd Blish as acting city manager, putting him in a dual role overseeing both law enforcement and municipal administration, according to Tulsa Flyer.
Wiedel's fall from city hall came fast for a 21-year city employee who had served as fire chief before being named interim city manager in October 2024, after longtime manager Jared Cottle resigned; Wiedel received the permanent appointment in March 2026, per the same account from Tulsa Flyer. The May arrest was Wiedel's second aggravated DUI case in under 10 months, a pattern that helped trigger the swift suspension and the political turmoil that followed.
Resignations, an Ultimatum, and a Departure
Then-Mayor Brad Girard resigned on May 29, 2026, just three days after Wiedel's suspension, after acting Mayor Bobby Schultz revealed that Girard had failed to tell other council members or the city attorney about Wiedel's earlier arrest. The Bixby City Council later appointed Ward 5 Councilor Schultz to serve as the city's new mayor in July 2026, filling the vacancy Girard left behind, the Tulsa Beacon reports.
Bixby placed Coody on administrative leave on June 8, 2026, for an inquiry into how and when councilors had been notified about the arrests, and her employment with the city ended June 23, 2026, after she rejected an ultimatum to take a demotion to executive assistant, according to a letter published by the same Tulsa Flyer report. Coody's lawsuit contends the city council described her as too close to the situation to remain in her post, a characterization she disputes as the basis for what she describes as constructive termination.
What Coody Is Asking the Court to Do
Coody's petition asks the court to require the city to properly record and document matters discussed during the executive session, to make those executive-session records public, and to invalidate city council decisions related to Wiedel's firing. She is also asking the city to cover her attorney fees and other lawsuit costs, along with any additional relief the court determines appropriate.
The stakes behind those requests are significant under Oklahoma law. Section 313 of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act states that any official action taken by a public body in willful violation of the state's sunshine laws is legally invalid and non-binding, according to the Oklahoma Bar Association. Individual officials who commit willful violations can also face criminal misdemeanor charges carrying fines up to $500 and up to a year in prison, per reporting from The Langston Citizen. If a court agrees a willful violation occurred here, the council's decisions regarding Wiedel and the city's interim leadership could be thrown out entirely, leaving open questions about the legitimacy of administrative decisions made during the transition.
The lawsuit lands as Bixby has been one of the fastest-growing communities in the Tulsa metro area, with U.S. Census Bureau estimates cited by the Broken Arrow Sentinel showing the city expanded 13.5% between 2020 and 2025 among communities over 20,000 residents. That growth now sits alongside months of upheaval at city hall, with the case against the city still ongoing and no court ruling yet on Coody's claims.
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