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Nov. 7With just days until Tuesday's general election, mayoral frontrunners Democrat Tom Adelson and Republican Dewey Bartlett Jr. continue to fire off new attack ads at one another, and independent Mark Perkins also has hit local television screens.
Throughout the mayor's race, the Tulsa World has periodically examined the truthfulness of the campaign ads put forth by candidates. The latest installment:
Bartlett's tax trouble.
Format: Television commercial.
Paid for by: Democrat Tom Adelson's campaign.
The message: The ad starts with footage of Dewey Bartlett at a forum saying: "You'll find my resume. It's not very flowery."
A voice-over then says, "And it's cause for concern."
As a magnifying glass hovers over a blurry graphic, highlighting claims about Bartlett's resume, the voice-over continues: "Court documents prove Dewey Bartlett ran his inherited family business into the ground, even in a good economy. Four times his businesses were suspended for nonpayment of taxes. The same Bartlett who voted repeatedly to raise your taxes often doesn't pay his own. If Dewey Bartlett runs Tulsa like he's run his own business, we'll be the next one asking for a bailout. We can't afford Dewey Bartlett."
Fact or Fiction: Bartlett is president of Keener Oil and Gas Co., which was founded by his father. He took management control of the company in 1987, according to court documents.
A 2003 court affidavit related to Bartlett's divorce states that it is "undisputed that, despite Dewey's best managerial efforts, there was no enhancement in the value of Dewey's inherited estate during the course of the marriage. In fact, the value of Dewey's inherited estate declined through depletion or depreciation."
Bartlett was married through the 1990s. He said that today his business is successful and debt-free.
Bartlett only inherited a portion of the business from his uncle and borrowed money to buy out the remaining owners, he said.
According to records from the Oklahoma Secretary of State's Office and the Oklahoma Tax Commission, one of his businesses, Busch, Bartlett, Judd Co., had its license suspended for nonpayment of franchise taxes in April 1981. Payment was made and the license was reinstated, but it was suspended again in January 1982 and never reinstated.
State records also show that Creek Construction Corp., of which Bartlett was an officer, also was suspended twice for not paying the same tax during the same time period.
Bartlett said those businesses were closed in the mid-'70s "and we were unaware that there was no record of their closures until the early 1980s."
Because of property issues related to his divorce, Bartlett said he did pay interest on late property tax payments on his condominium in 2003 and 2004.
As a city councilor from 1990 to 1994, Bartlett voted to raise parking meter rates, increase the cost of emergency ambulance rides, boost the standard bus fare and raise city utility rates.
The ad: Tom's a liberal spender.
Format: Television commercial.
Paid for by: Republican Dewey Bartlett Jr.'s campaign.
The message: The ad opens with a picture of Tom Adelson as a voice-over says: "Tom Adelson is a tax-and-spend liberal. Tom Adelson voted against capping our property taxes, allowing the automatic increases to continue each year. (A family is shown on its front porch.) Tom Adelson co-authored a $93 million tax on hospitals, as if health care doesn't cost enough already. (The inside of a hospital is shown.) And even with police officers being laid off, (a blurred picture of police cars is shown) Tom Adelson wants the city of Tulsa to pay for subsidized housing. Tom Adelson may be talking, but we can't afford the liberal spending he's talking about."
Fact or Fiction: Adelson voted against two legislative measures that dealt with reducing the 5-percent cap on annual property taxes, but those bills died in committee.
There is no hospital tax.
Adelson did co-sponsor a Medicaid reform bill that was signed into law and called for a state appropriation, not a tax, of $93 million to increase Medicaid reimbursements. Only one lawmaker in either the House or Senate voted against the bill.
Adelson didn't suggest using city money to subsidize housing for teachers but has encouraged private philanthropy to work in partnership with the city, such as what has occurred with Teach for America teachers in Tulsa.
The ad: Perkins is the right choice.
Format: Television commercial.
Paid for by: Independent Mark Perkins' campaign.
The message: The commercial begins with a view of Tulsa's skyline and a voice-over says: "Tulsa's mayor should reflect the character of its citizens." As Perkins is shown with construction workers, a family, in a board room and in a restaurant, the voice-over continues: "Mark Perkins has the education to understand, the judgment to make good decisions and the wisdom to surround himself with the most capable leaders. There are two choices in this election the politicians who divide us, or the leader who unites us."
Perkins is then shown in front of City Hall with a group of supports as he says: "It is your city Tulsa. Make the right choice, not the easy choice. On Nov. 10th vote for Mark Perkins."
P.J. Lassek 581-8382 pj.lassek@tulsaworld.com
To see more of the Tulsa World, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tulsaworld.com.
Copyright (c) 2009, Tulsa World, Okla.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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