Milwaukee mayoral candidates to hold final conversation ahead of Election Day

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- We are a week away from the Milwaukee mayoral election. Wednesday night, the candidates will have one of their last opportunities to reach voters.

As you would expect, crime, housing, school, and policing are all topics expected to be discussed during March 30th's "Milwaukee's Next Mayor: A Conversation With The Candidates" to help voters decide who should be in office at City Hall.

"The big focus is going to be on public safety, the economy and house, and basically the pension crisis," said Milwaukee NPR reporter Maayan Silver, one of the people asking candidates questions.

Public radio and television reporters, along with CBS 58 anchor Mike Strehlow, spent Tuesday practicing for Wednesday's conversation.

Former Alderman Bob Donovan said the pension crisis is a major concern.

"Milwaukee, sadly, is teetering on the verge of insolvency," said Donovan.

He also says he's focused on housing.

"To me, that's where the city has fallen down on the job for a long time," said Donovan.

Donovan also talked about giving more resources to police.

"We need to restore that morale, we need to restore the positions that have been cut over the years," said Donovan.

Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he's focused on Milwaukee's future.

"Having a city that is safer, having a city that is stronger, having a city that is more prosperous for everybody, and now we just have one week to go to carry that message across the entire city," said Johnson.

Debate moderators said they've worked with the public and activists to develop the questions they plan to ask.

"We've talked to a number of people, community groups, organizations, we've got questions about most of the areas we think people are expecting," said Milwaukee Public Television reporter and producer Everett Marshburn.

The conversation will be about an hour long, and will be on WMLM at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 31.