A sudden revolving door at Bixby City Hall has seen three city leaders leave the administration since late May. Now Police Chief Todd Blish is serving double duty as Bixby’s acting city manager.
“Crisis is going to happen, crisis happens in families. It happens in organizations. And for us, that crisis centered around the top of the organization,” Blish said. “Steps have been taken to mitigate that, and we’re moving on.”
Blish was hired as Bixby’s police chief in November 2021, a month after retiring as major from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. He said he’s tackling his new dual role by taking it day-to-day.
“That’s essentially what my day is,” Blish said. “Just addressing problems as they come up.”
The turnover started with the suspension of City Manager Joey Wiedel May 26. Then Brad Girard resigned as mayor three days later. Now Kim Coody, Bixby’s former assistant city manager, is no longer with the city as of June 23.
The city placed Coody on administrative leave June 8 pending an internal inquiry into how and when council members were informed of Wiedel’s May 25 arrest on an aggravated driving under the influence complaint — his second within 10 months.
“Ms. Coody did an outstanding job while she was here,” Blish said.
While Blish said Coody’s employment ended “at her choosing,” she provided the Tulsa Flyer a four-page letter she sent city leaders challenging that statement.
Coody’s letter states she was told to either accept a demotion to executive assistant to the city manager or end her employment. Coody declined an interview with the Flyer.
The letter states Coody would not accept a demotion as it lacked any “performance-based justification.”
Coody’s letter states Blish placed her on administrative leave for “misleading statements” made to councilors prior to the May 26 meeting. Bixby Councilor Mike David asked why Wiedel was absent, and Coody replied he was taking “personal leave” — something Wiedel told her to say if anyone inquired about him, Coody wrote.
Coody was hired as Bixby’s executive assistant to the city manager in June 2025 and sworn in as assistant city manager May 11, 2026 — serving just 44 days in the post.
Coody addresses ‘Glenpool incident’ in letter
This is not the first time Coody’s name has been attached to controversy.
During her time as assistant superintendent of Glenpool Public Schools, Coody was placed on administrative leave in September 2024 pending an investigation of a complaint made to the Oklahoma State Department of Education under the Ryan Walters administration. The complaint accused her of hosting parties involving alcohol and minors.
In December 2024, Coody filed a defamation lawsuit against Dayna Mabray, a student’s mother who filed the anonymous complaint to OSDE. Later that month, OSDE suspended Coody’s teaching certificate. Coody — who won the 2024 Oklahoma Association of School Administrators award for assistant superintendent of the year — resigned from Glenpool Public Schools May 1, 2025.
In September 2025, Tulsa County District Judge Rebecca Nightingale granted Mabray’s motion to dismiss the filing. Coody filed a petition in error in October to initiate the appeal process.
In January, Coody’s teaching credentials were reinstated after interim State Superintendent Lindel Fields dismissed the revocation proceedings. However, the district court ruled against Coody three months later, awarding Mabray a dismissal of the case and attorney fees, court costs and sanctions of about $42,300.
Coody has a pending appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court. In a June Facebook post, Coody denied knowingly hosting a May 2024 party with alcohol and minors.
“Once I became aware of the situation, I took immediate action to stop the underage drinking, contact parents, remove alcohol, take keys, and protect the safety of the young people involved,” Coody wrote in her post. “I understand there will be criticism, but if you choose to criticize me, please do so based on the facts.”
Coody’s letter to Bixby city leaders claims councilors didn’t seem to consider the incident relevant when she was hired or promoted. She states that any claims by leaders to be surprised by the information is “disingenuous at best, or at worst, pretexted for my demotion.”
Wiedel arrested for aggravated DUI twice within 10 months
When Wiedel was arrested May 25, he was already serving a one-year deferred sentence for an aggravated DUI committed nine months earlier.
An Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s arrest report from Aug. 22, 2025 states the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office put out a broadcast for a maroon Dodge Ram “bearing a Cherokee Nation license plate, all over the roadway and throwing beer cans out the window northbound on US-75 near Hwy 16.”
OHP’s breath test yielded a blood alcohol concentration of nearly twice the legal limit, according to the OHP arrest report.
On Jan. 22, Wiedel was involved in a domestic dispute, but law enforcement is not releasing information. The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call but says it cannot provide an incident report because the “victim and suspect” are tribal citizens. The Cherokee Nation Marshall Service told the Flyer it has no record of the event.
In the latest arrest, an EMS driver called 911 May 25 stating a driver eastbound on a rural part of Highway 51 ran off the road multiple times. Wagoner police stopped Wiedel and claimed he had a blood alcohol concentration of more than twice the legal limit based on a breath test, according to a police report and probable cause affidavit.
During the June 8 city council meeting, Bixby’s Ward 5 Councilor Bobby Schultz — serving as acting mayor — said Girard as mayor was informed of Wiedel’s arrest soon after it occurred but did not tell other councilors or the city attorney’s office.
Girard resigned May 29 and posted to Facebook that he “should have handled a recent employee matter differently than (he) did in the moment.”
Wiedel — an employee of the city for more than 20 years — served as Bixby’s fire chief prior to being appointed interim city manager in October 2024 when long-time city manager Jared Cottle resigned. Wiedel was given the job permanently by the city council in March.
Blish: ‘Sometimes, local governments go through this’
Despite the City Hall shakeup, Blish said city operations have continued. Ward 5 Councilor Bobby Shultz is serving as acting mayor. The Bixby City Council conducted interviews for Girard’s vacant Ward 4 seat at its meeting June 22.
“Sometimes, local governments go through this,” Blish said. “I hate to say it was just our turn, but you can look around the state and there’s things that go on in county governments and city governments all the time.”
Bixby has not opened an application process for the city manager position.
“The city manager position is not vacant,” Blish said. “Mr. Wiedel is still in that position.”
In the meantime, Blish said he does not plan to make any substantial moves as acting city manager.
“I’m not trying to make any long-term changes right now, because I think when Mr. Wiedel gets back — or anyone else down the road — they deserve an opportunity to run it the way they see fit,” Blish said.
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