Background
His mother, Ann Bartlett, is a former First Lady of Oklahoma.
His mother, Ann Bartlett, is a former First Lady of Oklahoma.
The younger Bartlett attended Bishop Kelley High School in Tulsa, then received a Bachelor of Surgery in accounting from Regis University and an Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.
An oil industry executive and political figure in Tulsa, Bartlett was the Republican nominee for mayor of Tulsa in the 2009 election, and was elected as Tulsa"s 39th mayor on November 10, 2009. Bartlett"s father, Bartlett, was Oklahoma"s second Republican governor from 1967 to 1971, and a United States Senator from 1973 to 1979. Bartlett served on the Tulsa City Council from 1990 to 1994, and ran unsuccessfully for mayor in a 1992 special election.
The Tulsa World newspaper suggested that Bartlett lost the race due to extremely negative campaigning.
In 2004 he ran against former state health secretary Tom Adelson for Oklahoma Senate district 33, losing by less than 1,000 votes. In 2009 he ran again for mayor of Tulsa.
In the November 10 general election, Bartlett received about 45% of the vote, to 36% for Adelson and 18% for independent Mark Perkins. Bartlett took office on December 7, 2009.
In May 2011, the Tulsa city auditor issued a report stating that Bartlett had violated two sections of the city"s ethics rules by accepting free legal advice from a lawyer who had also represented the city.
Bartlett and his lawyer have disputed this finding. In the 2013 mayoral election, Bartlett faced challenges from his Democratic predecessor, Kathy Taylor, as well as from another Republican, city councilman Bill Christiansen, and several other candidates. In the mayoral primary election on June 11, 2013, the city used a new non-partisan election system for the first time, and Bartlett finished second, with 34.2%, behind Taylor"s 42.1% but ahead of Christiansen"s 23.1%.
He is the President of the Keener Oil & Gas Company, the successor to a family business previously run by his father, and has served as the chairman of the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board and the National Stripper Well Association, as well as a member of the board of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.