At the Republican Club of Tulsa, Bartlett thanked the 11 candidates who competed against him in the party primary for being involved in the process, highlighting his two chief rivals - Chris Medlock and Anna Falling.

He said he admired Falling’s “courage to espouse her Christianity and to interact that with a firm desire to improve the quality of life in Tulsa north.”

Bartlett said he has sat down with Medlock since the primary election to talk about common ground and moving forward “arm in arm.”

“Pro and con discussions happen on whatever subject Chris brings up,” Bartlett said during a luncheon at the Summit Club. “There’s no doubt that if he says something, there’s a conversation about it, and that’s a good thing.”

But now is the time for all Republicans to unite behind his campaign, Bartlett said, to prevent a “liberal Democrat” from winning the office.

Bartlett, Keener Oil & Gas president and a former city councilor, will face Democratic state Sen. Tom Adelson and independent candidates Mark Perkins and Lawrence Kirkpatrick in the Nov. 10 general election.

“We will see a strategy where my opponent (Adelson) will try to cast himself as a conservative,” Bartlett said. “This is very contrary to his record, obviously. He’s trying to show that up is down, and his left is actually right.

“I am a conservative Republican businessman, with an open mind, an open heart and an open door to all of Tulsa. My opponent is a liberal Democrat.”

Adelson, who is an attorney, “doesn’t have the experience, history or temperament to properly lead this city out of our present financial problems to the point where we are once again America’s most livable city,” he said.

Adelson has done nothing to make himself qualified to be the chief executive officer of a city with 4,000 employees, Bartlett said.

“I offer you my resume, very humbly,” he said, noting his own history of job creation and business leadership.

“We are going to win. I can assure you of that. We are going to have a terrific four years, and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it. But I need your help and your vote to get there.”

Reached by phone after Bartlett’s speech, Adelson’s campaign released a statement.

“These are the self-serving comments of a politician who has fallen behind in the polls,” Adelson said, referring to his own polling. “I trust the voters to examine both our records. They will see clearly that I am the fiscal conservative, and that Mr. Bartlett never met a tax increase he didn’t like.

“It is unfortunate that Mr. Bartlett has failed to discuss the real issues that matter to Tulsa.”