Questions about the ethics violation complaint filed by the Wichita firefighters union remain unanswered

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Questions are growing about an ethics complaint filed against Wichita Mayor Lily Wu after her meeting with Fire Chief Tammy Snow. At the heart of the issue is a grant that funds 42 firefighter positions, which expires in 2026.

FactFinder investigates how discussions about the future of these workers led International Association of Fire Fighters (Local 135) President Ted Bush to file a complaint against Mayor Wu. We seek to outline the chronology of when these conversations took place and address concerns surrounding the taped meeting between Chief Snow and Union President Bush.

The central issue arose back in March, when Mayor Lily Wu had a one-on-one conversation with Chief Tammy Snow. Just a few months later, on September 16th, Chief Snow met with the president of the firemen’s union. Bush recorded that meeting, where Chief Snow stated that Mayor Wu had instructed her to fire 42 employees.

A month later, on October 23, Bush filed an ethics complaint against the mayor. This week, the ethics commission found Bush’s complaint moot and ruled that Mayor Wu did not violate council policy.

On Thursday night, Bush provided FactFinder with an audio copy of a conversation he had with Chief Snow in September. This entry raised further questions. In our report last night, we played parts of that tape, but some viewers questioned why the tape showed the date October 1st if Bush and Chief Snow met in September. They also wondered why we only got a four-minute clip from a recording that is said to be 47 minutes long.

An ethics commission investigation found that while the audio file indicates October 1, that is not the date of the meeting between Bush and Chief Snow; the meeting really took place on September 16.

“If the mayor did not propose and instruct Chief Snow to fire 42 firefighters, where did this idea come from? How did it happen? I just want to get to the bottom of it,” Bush told 12 News Thursday night.

The ethics commission also spoke with Wichita City Manager Robert Leighton, who recalled a March 2024 conversation between Mayor Wu and Chief Snow and said no one discussed the possibility of laying off workers.

Mayor Woo and Chief Snow have until next week to request a review of the ethics board’s decision, if they choose to do so.