Sherrick pushes for Bailey investigation despite legal risks
Andy Dossett | The Wiley Post
Sept 2, 2026
Questions surrounding former City Manager Mike Bailey's abrupt resignation are no longer confined to City Hall.
They have moved into the race for all five City Council seats and onto social media, where Councilman Tim Sherrick's call for an independent investigation has drawn both support and criticism.
By the time Sherrick posted his Aug. 26 request on Facebook over the weekend, he had already received an answer from Interim City Manager Laura Sanders — he just didn't include it.
Bartlesville City Councilor Tim Sherrick cast the lone vote against beginning the city manager search with an internal-only application period during a special City Council meeting Aug 28, 2026.
Andy Dossett | The Wiley Post
In a letter obtained by The Wiley Post in an Open Records Request, Sanders warned that an administration-initiated investigation could expose Bartlesville to additional liability.
But she also told Sherrick the City Council could order its own investigation.
"It is within the discretion of the Council to initiate an independent investigation," Sanders wrote Aug. 28. "I am happy to place such a matter on the agenda if so directed."
And like any Bartlesville city councilor, Sherrick can place an item on the council agenda for consideration. He cannot authorize an investigation on his own, but he can put the question before the five-member council for a vote.
As of publication, no investigation is scheduled for consideration at the council's Sept. 8 meeting.
Sherrick did not respond before publication to questions about why Sanders' response was not included with his public post or whether he intends to place an investigation on a future council agenda.
Sherrick calls for outside investigation
Sherrick sent Sanders his request Aug. 26, seeking a "formal, independent investigation" into the circumstances surrounding Bailey's Aug. 7 resignation. Councilman Larry East also supported exploring an investigation, according to the letter and accompanying email exchanges.
Sherrick argued that unanswered questions were fueling public speculation and called for an outside investigator to examine the events leading to Bailey's departure, relevant communications, complaints or allegations, Bailey's job performance and whether city policies and procedures were followed.
He also sought a review of emails, text messages, personnel documents and other records, with a written report made public to the extent allowed by law.
"The purpose of this investigation is not to presume wrongdoing or reach a predetermined conclusion," Sherrick wrote, "but rather to establish the facts surrounding the circumstances in question."
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But another portion of Sherrick's letter frames the question differently.
Sherrick argued that accepting Bailey's resignation required council members to assume "that no just cause for termination exists" under Bailey's contract. He wrote that the council should have "some substantiating evidence of that fact."
In other words, Sherrick's request does not point to a specific allegation of misconduct and ask whether evidence supports it. It asks, in part, what evidence supports the conclusion that grounds for terminating Bailey did not exist.
In even plainer words: substantiate the absence of cause.
Sherrick also questioned the council's oversight of Bailey, asserting that it did not appear a formal performance evaluation had been completed since Bailey's initial contract was signed in 2018.
Sanders says decision belongs to council
Sanders responded Aug. 28, recommending against an administration-initiated investigation.
She said such an inquiry into a former employee would be unprecedented from a human resources perspective, consume city resources and potentially create additional liability, particularly if personnel matters were made public.
City Attorney Jess Kane told The Wiley Post he agreed with Sanders' assessment.
Sanders also said she did not believe she should investigate Bailey because she had served as his subordinate. As city manager, Bailey reported to the City Council.
"For that reason, I do not believe it would be appropriate for me to independently initiate an investigation into the actions or performance of my former supervisor," Sanders wrote.
But Sanders distinguished between an investigation initiated by her administration and one ordered by the council.
She told Sherrick the council could authorize an independent investigation and retain an outside investigator with approval from a majority of its members.
"My role is to provide Council with my professional recommendation and facilitate whatever direction the majority of the Council ultimately provides," Sanders wrote.
After Sherrick's request began circulating on social media over the weekend, Sanders sent her response to the entire council Monday, saying she wanted all five members to have the same information.
Request followed another council disagreement
Sherrick's public call for an investigation followed another disagreement over how the council should proceed after Bailey's resignation.
At the Aug. 28 special meeting, Sherrick argued that Bartlesville should advertise the city manager position to internal and external applicants simultaneously. The majority instead approved an internal-only posting for two weeks before deciding whether to broaden the search.
During the discussion, Councilor Aaron Kirkpatrick characterized Sherrick's position as an effort to delay selecting a new city manager until after the Nov. 3 election. Sherrick cast the lone vote against the internal-first approach.
After the Aug. 28 meeting, Sherrick publicly released his investigation request, saying, "I believe the public deserves transparency and accountability."
By the time he made that appeal, Sanders had already responded, telling Sherrick that she would not initiate an investigation administratively but that the City Council had the authority to order one.
As of Wednesday, Sherrick has not included Sanders' response in his post.
Bailey dispute moves into council campaign
The debate is also spilling into the Nov. 3 election, when voters will decide all five City Council seats.
Council candidates Amanda (Wier) Veley and Josh Lock were among those who defended Sherrick's call for an investigation on social media, arguing that questions should not be treated as accusations and that one council member cannot authorize an investigation alone.
Other residents questioned why Sherrick was making a public appeal when he and other council members have the authority to put the issue before the governing body. Others noted Sherrick was privy to a recent executive session where he presumably has access to much of the information he is requesting. Still others pointed to the difficulty of balancing personnel confidentiality against public demands for information.
That tension has followed Bailey's resignation from the beginning and is now becoming intertwined with both the search for his replacement and the council campaign.
For now, Sherrick has publicly called for an independent investigation. Sanders has told him the council can order one, and Kane has agreed with her assessment of the potential liability involved.
But no investigation has been authorized, and no vote is scheduled.
Sherrick - or any other member of the City Council - can put the question on the agenda.
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