Bartlett pledges no tax hikes
If elected mayor, Dewey Bartlett, Jr. said he would not raise taxes on Tulsans.
In an interview with the Tulsa Beacon, Bartlett said, “I am not raising any taxes. Period.”
Bartlett, who describes himself as a conservative Republican, said in the past he had only supported tax increases for specific projects that lasted only a specified amount of time.
In the race for Tulsa mayor, Bartlett faces Sen. Tom Adelson, a Democrat, and Independents Mark Perkins and Lawrence Kirkpatrick in the Nov. 10 election.
Bartlett said that one of the differences between him and Adelson is Bartlett’s willingness to work with city councilors while Adelson tends to prefer confrontation.
“I’m a whole different person (than Adelson),” Bartlett said. “I always look for common ground.”
During Kathy Taylor’s administration, city officials have sparred with county leaders to the point that lawsuits have been filed.
“That’s unacceptable,” said Bartlett, who said he has friends in the city and county government.
“I have a lot of good relationships with county elected officials.”
Bartlett said it is the job of the mayor to communicate with other officials.
Bartlett has been endorsed by Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz, Tulsa County Assessor Ken Yazel, Tulsa County Commissioners Fred Perry and John Smaligo, Tulsa County Treasurer Dennis Semler, Tulsa County Clerk Earlene Wilson and Tulsa County Clerk Sally Howe Smith.
“The mayor’s race is about leadership,” said Perry. “Dewey Bartlett has the temperament and maturity to work well with others.
“Over the years, I have found him to be a forthright and honorable person. In my opinion, Dewey’s business experience combined with his city council and other civic experience, best qualify him to serve as mayor of Tulsa.”
“Dewey Bartlett is the candidate who shares our vision of the free-enterprise system and is the only candidate who has pledged that he won’t take our taxes while mayor,” Yazel said. “I strongly encourage Tulsans to support Dewey Bartlett.”
In contrast to Taylor, Bartlett said he would hold monthly meetings with the chairman and vice chairman of the City Council to discuss issues in detail.
He said he would ask every councilor to join him in meetings with the public in the nine city districts at least one a year. Bartlett said he did when he served on the Council and it was effective.
“We took City Hall to the people,” Bartlett said.
Bartlett said he was open to rescheduling some city board meetings at night to accommodate Tulsans who can’t attend meetings during working hours.
When asked about PlaniTulsa, Bartlett replied that he had not studied the plan in detail.
“I’m not real familiar with it,” he said. “I do like the concept that 5,000 people got involved in it.”
Bartlett said the current Comprehensive Plan, created 30 years ago, works pretty good. Bartlett likes long-range planning.
A former member of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, Bartlett said a path for the Creek Expressway had been mapped out in the 1950s.
The next mayor will inherit a city budget that is faced with declining sales tax revenues and 4,000 employees that will be furloughed without pay for eight days in this fiscal year.
“This is why we need a mayor who understands finances,” said Bartlett, who is president of Keener Oil & Gas Company. “It can’t be on-the-job training. We will have to determine what could be cut immediately. We’ve got to start a new process.”
Bartlett said the city should consider selling some of the surplus land it owns around the city.
“We need to sell that land,” he said. “Then it gets back on the tax rolls.”
Bartlett said one of the ways to dig out of Tulsa’s fiscal mess is economic development. Bartlett, who was appointed to the airport trust by Taylor, said the airport has untapped potential.
“It’s an immediate opportunity,” Bartlett said.
With plenty of available land and rail lines to the Port of Catoosa, Tulsa International Airport could be a real boost, he said.
Bartlett said he hoped the public dollars invested in Downtown Tulsa would pay off with subsequent private investment.
He said the idea of using tax dollars to revitalize Downtown “had run its course.”
Bartlett is Catholic and was educated in Catholic schools.
“Religion is a very important part of my life,” he said. “Ethics played an important role in my education.”
“I don’t wear my religion on my sleeve. There is a separation of church and state and I am very supportive of that.”
Bartlett said he would not have supported a policy by ex-mayor Susan Savage to prohibit Christian ministers from saying the name Jesus in public prayers prior to the opening of the council meetings.
“I’m not a political correctness guy,” Bartlett said.
Bartlett has also been endorsed by U.S. Tom Coburn and U.S. Jim Inhofe.