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Sept. 24-- Mayoral Chief of Staff Terry Simonson and Fire Chief Allen LaCroix will be placed on paid administrative leave starting next week as an inquiry is launched regarding Simonson's son's inclusion in testing for the firefighters academy, Mayor Dewey Bartlett said Friday.
"I take this very seriously -- the appearance of any impropriety or wrongdoing," the mayor told the World.
"I intend to immediately seek a hopefully quick, complete, transparent and objective evaluation of the entirety of the matter," he said about the inquiries that will take place.
Meanwhile, the Tulsa County Democratic Party sent a letter to Bartlett on Friday calling for Simonson to be removed from his position.
"The news of your Chief of Staff Terry Simonson's actions has the Tulsa Community shocked, disappointed and angry," wrote Michael Whelan, party vice chairman.
As first reported in the Tulsa World on Friday, a series of emails indicate that special treatment was given to Simonson's son when he was squeezed into the written testing cycle for the Tulsa firefighters academy after he failed to secure a spot on his own.
Emails show that Simonson asked LaCroix if he could find a seat for his 30-year-old son, Ryan Simonson, to which LaCroix agreed and then ordered it to happen despite resistance from a human resources staffer, who said it was inappropriate.
After the testing cycle began, Ryan Simonson and his father gained unauthorized access into the fire training facility to practice just days before the physical test, the emails reveal.
Several emails between Fire Department officials noted that neither Simonson nor his son was given authorization to be at the training facility.
