Mayoral candidates Tom Adelson and Dewey Bartlett Jr. held dueling new conferences Thursday to outline their individual plans for economic development.

Adelson, a Democrat, unveiled a six-point plan that includes targeting small businesses, localizing expenditures, and workforce training.

Bartlett, a Republican, unveiled a five-point plan that includes economic forums and easing regulatory and permitting processes.

While Tulsa annually ranks as one of the most business-friendly cities in the country, the economic downturn over the past two years has resulted in Tulsa’s unemployment rate climbing 3 percentage points, Adelson said during a news conference at the Tulsa Press Club.

He said that 82 percent of the businesses in Tulsa and the surrounding areas have fewer than 10 employees, “so it is no exaggeration to say that small businesses are indeed the life blood of our city.”

Adelson said that as mayor he will immediately convene a business summit led by the Tulsa Metro Chamber. The summit will include small business owners, municipal permitting officials, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, lenders and education officers to produce recommendations within 30 days on how to improve the small business climate in Tulsa.

Adelson also detailed

Bartlett Jr. unveiled his five-point plan at a news conference less than an hour later. "We need people to know Tulsa means business," he said at Tulsa Plastics, which is the type of small business he said he wants to support.

His points include hosting five economic forums across the city within his first 100 days in office, easing regulatory and permitting processes, privatizing more government services, revamping the bidding process to allow more participation, and recruiting more businesses to the city.

Bartlett, Keener Oil & Gas president, touted his personal business experience as what's best for the next mayor.