Sacramento Mayoral Debate May 9

The race for mayor of Sacramento is heating up, and the three front-runner candidates will face off Monday, May 9, at Sacramento State.

The hourlong debate is set for 3 p.m. in the University Union Ballroom.

Sacramento State and Associated Students Inc. (ASI) are partnering with The Sacramento Bee, Capital Public Radio, and ABC10 (KXTV) to present the mayoral debate on the first day absentee ballots will be mailed to voters. The election is June 7.

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, former boxing champion Tony Lopez, and former state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg have agreed to participate.

The candidates will field questions from a panel that will include Sacramento Bee city editor Kevin Yamamura, Capital Public Radio reporter Bob Moffitt, and graduating Sacramento State senior Aryn Fields, a vice president of ASI. ABC10 anchor Cristina Mendonsa will moderate.

Among the likely topics for the candidates are: homelessness, jobs and the economy, the increase in violent crime, downtown’s changing business climate, the future of Sleep Train Arena, Measure U (the temporary ½-cent sales tax overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2012), ethics and culture issues at City Hall, mental illness, and how to handle long-term pension obligations.

The debate will include questions from Sacramento State students and the general public.

The event will be broadcast live on ABC10 and Capital Public Radio News 90.9 FM at 3 p.m. and live-streamed on Capradio.org and SacBee.com. It will be rebroadcast on CapRadio at 7 p.m.