All seven Manhattan Beach City Council candidates appeared at a forum sponsored by the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday night.

The forum was notable for its lack of fireworks as each candidate responded in turn to a series of Chamber-written questions. The event mainly served as an introduction to the candidates, and it gave them their first opportunity to appear on the same stage together.

Candidates were asked questions on such topics as taxing of small businesses, e-bike safety, outdoor dining, Measure A, and even if the city should continue "red bagging" parking meters during the holidays (unanimous answer: yes).

The full video of the forum can be seen here.

Each candidate was given 90 seconds for a closing statement to sum up their candidacy. Here are their responses (in alphabetical order):

 Mark Burton: "Public service is my passion. It's something I love doing. The best job I've ever had is serving on City Council. I've listened to you. I sponsored the ban on short-term rentals, I sponsored the resolution opposing the billion dollar boondoggle [desalination] plant, and I also sponsored security cameras with automated license plate readers. In the last ten years whether I've been on council or not been on council, I've been serving you [including filing an appeal on the Highrose/Verandas project]. If you want a council member that will listen, be your champion, be your zealous advocate, you need to vote for Mark Burton. You know what you're going to get. I've got a wealth of experience in public safety; that's why I'm the public safety candidate we need on council. When it comes to transparency, I'm the transparency candidate we need on council. When it comes to listening, I'm the listening candidate we need on council."

Frank Chiella: "I've served you for 35 years on the Manhattan Beach Fire Department as a firefighter paramedic. Seven years ago I retired from the fire department as a battalion chief. Since my retirement I have continued serving you as a leader of our Community Emergency Response Team [CERT]. For over 50 years I have provided public service to the communities i have lived and worked in [including two terms in office in Ventura County]. Now is the time for me to continue that service and leadership to you as a city council member. I will be frank with you. I will make sure the city has adequate resources necessary to keep you and your family safe. I will listen to you with respect and integrity .I will hold myself and the city accountable to you."

Rita Crabtree-Kampe: "I can walk the walk. I get out there every day in our community, and with my 501(c)(3) that I co-founded [MBSAFE] I engage in homeless outreach in the community, educating business area owners to understand best practices on how to address homelessness.

I am a fresh voice, a new perspective. I have had the opportunity in the last several years to work with our wonderful Police Chief Derrick Abell, I have a wonderful relationship with our police department, I have established a relationship with [new Police] Chief Johnson and we will continue to work together, I have an endorsement from retired [MBPD] Captain Tim Hageman. I will take the experience I have working with the police department and the collaborative work I have done with Harbor Interfaith and other agencies. I want to work with the school board in order to identify how to make our campuses more safe so we can push back on these hate crimes."

 Stewart Fournier: "We all have to earn your vote, vote by vote, which is why I door-knock every single day and I will continue to door-knock every single day, to show my dedication in terms of listening to you, and taking in what your experiences are, coupled with my own over almost half a century of experience. I truly enjoy meeting all of you and I look forward to meeting more of  you as I go along. I know why you live in Manhattan Beach, why it’s special to you. [My wife and I] feel so safe and privileged to live in Manhattan Beach. You all know we live in a very, very special place. All of us tonight are fighting for the opportunity to make sure that continues. But we need a lot of work, and I am a new voice, and I am an experienced voice."

Suzanne Hadley: "I have truly enjoyed serving my first term, and I think there's more work to be done... I'm running for four reasons, and I truly trust the voters on this. I’m just going to be myself, and if you like what you hear, you'll vote for me. I’m running on public safety, that's job number one. I want to fund and support our police, I want to grow and expand our fire department. We will never go County, we are not cutting firefighter paramedic services, so please disregard some of the election year chatter on that. I will be a watchdog for you to keep you and and your family safe just as I have valued other councils keeping me safe. I'm running on spending. I voted against the city budget this summer that added 11 new positions, and 11 new pensions. I'm frugal with your money as a taxpayer. I will watch out for you. I'm running on small business, I have over 50 endorsements from small businesses...I've walked the talk; I've owned my own brick and mortar retailer, I have my MBA, I know what it's like to grow and thrive and survive in small business and I want to help keep our [businesses] here and add more. And finally, I'm running on strength. It’s hard to be on council and it's hard to take difficult votes. I believe in democracy, I believe in debate. I believe in lively debate, and I know some people don't...I will serve and discuss and vote as I see fit and I will take the consequences."

 Amy Howorth: "I hope that you will consider the 16 years of service that I gave... I have 16 years of balanced budgets under my belt; I had student achievement soaring during [my time on the] school board and resident satisfaction very high, and public safety very high during my term on the city council. I believe in public safety, whether it's supporting police and fire but also safe schools. We want our students safe in those schools, we want safe beaches, and safe oceans. We need to get things done again. We need to build a pool, we need to finish that community center, build that fire building. I can do that. I have collaborated with my colleagues on the council, as well as county supervisors and elected state officials. It takes all of us to make it happen for all of you. Serving in local government is one of the greatest joys of my life, because you actually get things done for people that improves the quality of your lives."

David Lesser: "Our community - like the rest of our country - has had so much divisiveness. It has made me frustrated. I was not planning to run again for City Council. I was happy to rest on what I have accomplished. [But] I just don’t see enough collaboration, and an effort at really figuring out where there are compromises and how we advocate together on behalf of our community. Look at my record, at being your mayor twice, being on council for 8 years, being on the Planning Commission for 6 years. We got a lot done for the community: building the library, fighting crazy measures like the road diet on Vista Del Mar, hiring more engineers to be able to get to our long-delayed projects, to get more infrastructure built. What would I stand for today? It actually is supporting public safety. There was a reference to not supporting our city budget. Our city budget pays for our police department – and to the extent that we're not arriving at a consensus and a shared vision for our city, I think that’s bad for us."