Charleston's mayoral candidates held their liveliest debate yet last Thursday in the Sottile Theatre. With a lengthy 90-minute runtime and questions posed by College of Charleston political scientists, this was a bruising contest to help decide who will replace longtime Mayor Joe Riley. Most of the other forums between these candidates have been quieter affairs run by neighborhoods, business groups, and nonprofits. This one, though, was the biggest stage for these candidates yet, and they pulled no punches. State Representative Leon Stavrinakis came out wanting to connect himself to Riley, saying, "What we need is a mayor like we have now who has shown he can fund large infrastructure projects, which I have done." Ginny Deering, founder of WINGS for Kids, hit him on his plan to put infrastructure in place before development, calling it "crazy" because it would slow said development. The candidates overall praised the popular Riley while offering fairly limited ideas on how they would govern differently. Education and public school support, transportation, and income inequality were all common topics throughout the evening. Get a play-by-play of the event below! Read the full article here: Charleston Mayoral Candidates Scrap on Biggest Stage