Bartlett served as a U.S. Representative from Texas' 3rd District from 1983 until his resignation in 1991. In 1991, Bartlett also ran for mayor of Dallas, a position he served until 1995, when he was defeated for re-election by Ron Kirk.

Following his government service, Bartlett has served on a number of Boards of Directors, including IMCO Recycling, Kaufman and Broad Home Corporation, Sun Coast Industrial and the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington. In addition, he has also served on the Board of Governors of the National YMCA, the Fannie Mae National Advisory Council and the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Board.