Philadelphia mayoral candidate forums you can attend in person or watch online

This year’s primary election in Philly has enough mayoral candidates to almost field a soccer team. With so many varying opinions on how to best manage the city, it can feel overwhelming to figure out who to vote for — and at this point, it’s anyone’s race.

To get a better idea of what each candidate’s vision of Philly looks like, various organizations across the city host forums to set the table for discussion and debate between candidates. There have been a few forums already, with some ending in verbal sparring between candidates and in other cases between candidates and moderators — as seen with the public grilling of a first-time candidate and the clashing of words with another by former mayor Michael Nutter who was moderating the forums.

While it’s helpful to learn about candidate platforms, these events can also get heated as it seems many candidates support similar reforms, like funding the arts and creative economy but disagree on the best way to accomplish them.

Suppose you’re looking to see mayoral candidates answer hard-hitting questions, make their case for mayor, and possibly even catch heat for past slip-ups. In that case, there are many more forums left for you to attend or watch this election season before the upcoming primary on May 16.

Philadelphia’s six major tourism industry organizations will host mayoral candidates to discuss the tourism and hospitality industry, which expects to surpass pre-pandemic tourism revenue in the city by the end of this year. The forum will take place in the Michael A. Nutter Theatre inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center, but it’s not open to the public. Instead, you can watch this forum live on 6abc on TV, online or mobile phone. Download the 6ABC mobile app for iPhone and Android, or watch online at 6abc.com/watch/live.

📅 March 14, 7 p.m., 💵 Free, 🌐 6abc.com/watch/live

Join BUILDPhilly and the Democratic candidates for mayor at the Kimmel Center for a discussion centering on infrastructure, land use, development and other issues related to the city’s built environment. Moderators will lead candidates through questions to shed more light on how they would change and improve the city’s landscape.

📅 March 14, 8 a.m.-10:30 a.m., 💵 $35, 📍 300 S. Broad St., 🌐 philadelphiacfa.ticketleap.com/2023-buildphilly-mayoral-forum

Made possible by grants from the Lenfest Insitute’s Every Voice, Every Vote initiative, the Philadelphia Crosstown Coalition is hosting two mayoral forums, one in West Philly at Houston Hall and one in Center City at Prince Film Theater. The Crosstown Coalition is a non-partisan, non-profit cohort of local registered community organization members. Each candidate will be asked the same questions across the board in these forums, with the first centering on policy platforms and the second on Philly’s gun violence crisis. RSVP in advance.

📅 March 28, 7 p.m.–9 p.m., 💵 Free, 📍 3417 Spruce St. / 📅 April 12, 7 p.m.–9 p.m., 💵 Free 📍 1412 Chestnut St., 🌐 philacrosstown.org

The Green Living Plan, a coalition of a dozen-plus local nonprofits and academic organizations, is inviting mayoral candidates to Drexel’s Academy of Natural Sciences to discuss how each candidate will address environmental and quality-of-life issues in the city. Green Living Plan’s goal is to come together to solve some of the city’s top issues like sustainability, clean energy and preserving green spaces. RSVP in advance.

📅 March 29, 6 p.m.–8 p.m., 💵 Free, 📍 1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy., 🌐 eventbrite.com

In partnership with Lenfest’s Every Voice, Every Vote, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance will host a mayoral candidate forum to discuss each candidate’s policy idea for Philly’s arts and culture sector. With the capacity to seat 300 audience members at Taller Puertoriqqueño and 1,000 virtual attendees, this will be a big forum for the arts. If you want to help inform the questions asked, fill out PHL Art’s online survey. RSVP in advance.

📅 March 30, 5:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m., 💵 Free, 📍 2600 N. 5th St., 🌐 eventbrite.com

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia will host the mayoral candidates at a forum on making Philly a more sustainable and equitable city regarding mobility and transportation for its residents. Candidates will be asked questions based on the Bike Coalition’s 2023 Better Mobility Platform, which advocates for safer and better-connected streets for residents to get around. RSVP in advance.

📅 March 31, 4 p.m.-5 p.m., 💵 Free, 📍 1755 N. 13th St., 🌐 bicyclecoalition.secure.nonprofitsoapbox.com/mayorpanel

Join the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), the 2023 mayoral candidates, and moderator Maiken Scott of WHYY’s The Pulse, for a discussion about the city’s top public health issues, like gun violence, substance use and behavioral health. You can watch this forum in person if you register online before March 31. Otherwise, you can register online to watch the forum via live stream.

📅 April 4, 4 p.m.-6 p.m., 💵 Free, 📍 1500 Market St. (Lower Mezzanine Conference Center), 🌐 eventbrite.com

A cohort of the city’s most impactful housing and social service organizations — PACDC, Ceiba, LISC Philadelphia, Regional Housing Legal Services, Urban Affairs Coalition, and Urban League of Greater Philadelphia — will host the Philadelphia mayoral candidates for a discussion about a topic affecting every Philadelphian, housing affordability. The forum will take place at Broad Street Ministry, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. for refreshments and networking. RSVP in advance.

📅 April 19, 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m., 💵 Free, 📍 315 S. Broad St., 🌐 pacdc.org/edpp

Mayoral candidates will gather in The Kirby Auditorium at the National Constitution Center to have a discussion — not a debate — about the best ways to tackle behavioral health, substance use, and intellectual disability-related issues. Hosted by the Alliance of Community Service Providers, and moderated by The Inquirer’s very own Abraham Gutman, this forum is not open to the public but will be live-streamed.

📅 April 20, 8:45 a.m.-10 a.m., 💵 Free, 🌐 facebook.com/thealliancecsp/live_videos