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ALBANY, GA -- The four candidates for Mayor of Albany are set to square off tonight, discussing the issues of the “Good Life City,” in their first official debate, and voters have a lot of questions they would like to ask them.

“I would ask about the – what would they do about crime in Albany,” said Albany resident Josephine Farrell. “It has gotten so bad that I’m afraid to go outside at night.”

Farrell said she is so nervous she has bought a gun for protection, and is considering purchasing another one.

But for other people, it is all about jobs. “First of all the job economy I would say to him how hard it is to get a job, to maintain a job,” said Albany resident Johnny Keith.

Keith, who works as a cook at the International House of Pancakes, said crime is also an important issue to him.

As for the debate itself, political experts said they are important for candidates.

“Sometimes they say things that when the fact finders go back to check it wouldn't be correct,” said Dr. Hyecinth Ezeamii, a political science professor at Albany State University. “So, I think they have to be sure the information is right.” 

Ezeamii said it is important for candidates to be tough against one another, but it is also important to be professional. “They are competing for the same position – you do whatever you can, but you have to be ethical – not trying to destroy the other person.”

The debate, at Union Missionary Baptist Church on E. Oglethorpe Road, starts at 7:00 p.m.