Voters Deciding Tulsa's Next Mayor And Changes To City Charter

By Ashli Sims, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- Voters are casting their ballots for Tulsa's next mayor.  The polls are open and will remain open until 7 p.m.

Voters are also deciding on three amendments to the city charter.

Related story: 11/8/2009 Three Tulsa Charter Amendments Are Up For A Vote Tuesday

The News On 6 and NewsOn6.com coverage begins when the polls close at 7:00 p.m. and we'll be updating the most competitive races throughout the night.  Click on to NewsOn6.com for complete election results from around the area.

For the three Tulsa mayoral candidates, they are not slowing down in the race to get votes.

Monday evening, the Adelson for Mayor campaign took over TU's student union in their last minute effort to rally voters. The Democratic candidate for Tulsa mayor, Tom Adelson is running on his record of service as a state senator.

"This is a race about who has the vision, the grit, the intelligence, the record of getting things done, the seriousness of purpose, the core values, the deep within the well-spring, an abiding love for Tulsa. I offer all that. I don't offer a famous name," said Tom Adelson, (D) mayoral candidate.

Just another verbal jab at his Republican competitor Dewey Bartlett. The two have sparred in an increasingly nasty war of words for weeks.

The Bartlett campaign is taking their message directly to the people, dialing up votes for Dewey and going door to door with Dewey signs. Some polls show Bartlett has an eight-point lead over Adelson, his nearest competitor. But he's not letting up, hoping to sell voters on his plan to grow Tulsa's economy.

"We have to be rolling out the red carpet, not the red tape. We've unfortunately missed that opportunity before. We have to encourage business, grow jobs, grow opportunity. That's my focus," said Dewey Bartlett, (R) mayoral candidate.

Independent Mark Perkins has made recent gains, but still wages an uphill battle. He says there are plenty of issues he would still like to talk to voters about, so he's posting video blogs to his web site, while volunteers work the phones. He's pushed a non-partisan approach to solving the city's problems.

"I don't have any political agendas or political debts. I'm simply here to produce results for the citizens of Tulsa. I think I've demonstrated that perspective and I think it'll be more effective," said Mark Perkins.

All three candidates appeared on Six in the Morning to discuss their positions to voters.

11/09/2009  Related Story: A Conversation With Tulsa's Mayoral Candidates