A legal fight is brewing over Mayor Jean Stothert's recent hiring of Fire Chief Dan Olsen. Two unsuccessful candidates, Battalion Chief's Dan Stolinski and Robb Gottsch, have filed a lawsuit challenging the City's hiring process.
Olsen was not one of the four original finalists, but Stothert says he became one after one candidate dropped out and another was disqualified.
Stolinski and Gottsch were two of the four finalists and are now taking the matter to court. Stothert issued a statement on the lawsuit Tuesday afternoon.
“We will defend the lawsuit, filed by two unsuccessful candidates for Fire Chief, and we are confident we will prevail in court. The Human Resources Director and City Labor Relations Director advised me of the hiring process which is outlined in the City Charter and city code which I followed," Stothert says.
"The process is consistent with the way the City hires any position in the “classified service,” including Fire Chief, Police Chief and City Attorney. During this litigation, Dan Olsen remains Chief of the Omaha Fire Department.”