Tulsa World: Tulsa mayoral candidates participate in downtown forum

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Tulsa mayoral candidates participate in downtown forum

Tulsa mayoral candidates Dewey Bartlett (left), Mike Perkins (middle) and Tom Adelson (right). MIKE SIMONS and CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World File Photos

By P.J. LASSEK World Staff Writer
Published: 10/27/2009 4:16 PM
Last Modified: 10/27/2009 11:49 PM

Tulsa Elections: Read bios of candidates for mayor, City Council and city auditor and view a map of City Council districts.

Members of the Tulsa Downtown Lion's Club threw straight pitches to Republican Dewey Bartlett Jr., while lobbing some curves to Democrat Tom Adelson and independent Mark Perkins during a mayoral forum Tuesday.

"It's a rough crowd," moderator Fred Campbell said a couple of times about some of the questions to Adelson and Perkins during the forum, held at First United Methodist Church.

Bartlett, Adelson and Perkins will face each other at the Nov. 10 general election. Also on the ballot will be independent Lawrence Kirkpatrick.

All but two questions were asked to specific candidates.

Bartlett's three questions all focused on city issues: how good of a deal was the move to the new City Hall, the effect of police layoffs, and how he would draw people to north Tulsa.

Adelson's three questions consisted of whether he would keep Police Chief Ron Palmer, whether he would govern by the Constitution, and how he rationalizes his national party affiliation that thinks differently than most Oklahomans.

Perkins only got two specific questions. He was asked by the moderator to comment on the negative tenor of his opponents' campaigns, and whether he was in the race to keep his opponents honest "since

your chances of success are limited."

Bartlett said the concept behind buying the new City Hall was "a good idea," but the financial plan of leasing out the building "obviously hasn't turned out."

He said there is "an opportunity to give someone a heck of a deal," on rent, which is what he'd do as mayor.

Adelson said party affiliation isn't relevant to the duties of the mayor.

"When you talk to people, you don't ask them what their party identity is," he said. The job of mayor is about making life better for the city, the families, and the youth, Adelson said.

"It's not about moving Tulsa to left or the right, it's about moving Tulsa forward," Adleson said.

Perkins said he was not in the race to keep the other candidates honest, but decided "it was time for something fresh, something new."

"Maybe my chances six months ago were limited, but my chances are pretty good right now," he said. "I represent something different. I'm giving Tulsa a real alternative." He said his support base "is growing exponentially."

All three candidates were asked about what is the fair solution to the pending lawsuit over a controversial assessment district which collects a fee from downtown property owners to help fund the construction of the city's ballpark, ONEOK Field.

A group of downtown property owners sued the city for both the creation of the district and the approval of the assessment roll that calculates the amount of the fees for each property.

Bartlett said that if the outcome of the litigation allows an opportunity to "make the district fairer, I certainly think the mayor's office should evaluate that."

Perkins and Adelson both said that many property owners support the district.

Neither said they knew what other funding options were explored, but the ballpark adds to the revitalization of downtown benefitting the area. By P.J. LASSEK World Staff Writer

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Reader comments for this story have been moved to the most updated version of the story, now under the headline "Mayoral candidates mum for once," which was published on 10/28/2009. So far, 35 comments have been made.