SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Spectrum News hosted the first televised debate between the four candidates for Syracuse mayor on Tuesday.

Capital Tonight Host Liz Benjamin moderated the debate, along with Spectrum News Reporter Iris St. Meran and CNY Business Journal Staff Writer Norm Poltenson.

The four candidates participating were Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, Republican Laura Lavine, Democrat Juanita Perez Williams and Ben Walsh who is running on three down-ticket ballot lines.

The 90-minute debate covered more than a dozen topics, including poverty, crime, city finances, housing and government innovation. Both the Democrat and Republican targeted Walsh most often, attacking him for his campaign donations, his party affiliation (or lack thereof) and his position on a city-county merger.

A poll released hours before the debate was taped showed Walsh in a close second in the race behind Perez Williams.

The debate aired Tuesday night and will re-air on Spectrum News at 6:30 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday. It can be viewed any time online at spectrumlocalnews.com.

Here are some takeaways from the debate, emphasizing the points where the candidates disagreed.

1. Walsh attacked for campaign donations

The debate got most heated on the issue of campaign donations. Both Lavine and Perez Williams criticized Walsh for receiving contributions from real estate developers.

Walsh said he formed good relationships with developers while working as business development director for the city.

"I don't know when it became politically popular to vilify and demonize developers," Walsh said. He said only 10 percent of his donations have come from developers.

Perez Williams called that claim "disingenuous" since family members of developers and LLCs have also given to his campaign.

"You need to be honest with the voters of Syracuse that you have in fact used your Rolodex to fuel your campaign," she said.

Walsh fired back, accusing Perez Williams of being disingenuous. He said his opponents asked for money from developers and became upset when they didn't receive it.

Walsh has more money in the bank than any other candidate. The most recent campaign finance filings, however, show that Perez Williams, for the first time, is taking in more money than he is.

Perez Williams raised $60,705 over the last three weeks. Walsh raised $45,647. Lavine raised $4,250. Hawkins -- the only candidate who didn't run in a primary -- has raised $14,253 since July.

2. Do we need more cops?

The candidates differed on ideas for staffing the police department. Hawkins was the only candidate who said we do not need more police. He said he would hire outreach workers before hiring more cops.

"We can get more effective reduction of [shootings] by having youth outreach workers...rather than hiring more police," he said.

Hawkins also said he would look out of town to hire a chief of police.

Lavine said she would hire more police using money currently spent on overtime.

"Some people say, 'Laura, sometimes overtime is cheaper," she said. "Cheaper isn't always better."

Lavine also accused Perez Williams of previously saying that police do not deter crime -- something Perez Williams called "absurd."

At a Centerstate CEO event last month, Perez Williams said she doesn't believe the answer to solving crime is adding more police officers. She said deterrence should involve more stakeholders than just police.

"What I said was more police officers are not the answer to stopping the crime that is already occuring," Perez Williams said Tuesday in response to Lavine. "Certainly I believe we need more police officers."

Walsh said the city needs more cops, and also took a lightly veiled dig at Perez Williams.

"I'm glad to hear my opponents say we need more police officers on the street," he said. "I haven't heard that consistently from everyone up here."

Walsh said in the short term, hiring more cops would be less expensive than buffering the ranks with overtime spending, which surpassed $13 million last year.

3. Lavine gives herself a benchmark

Lavine said if she hasn't turned the city school district around by the end of her first term, she won't seek reelection.

She has proposed mayoral control of city schools and spent much of her campaign focusing on the struggling district. Currently, the mayor has little say over the direction of the schools.

She promised to hold herself accountable whether or not state lawmakers grant her mayoral control.

"If I don't turn this around, nobody has to worry about voting for me for a second term," she said. "I won't run again if I don't get this turned around."

Lavine, who has spent her career in education and its administration, has also said she would not take a full salary if elected.

4. Gun control

The first question of the evening asked how the candidates think the city should react to the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Hawkins warned of over-reacting to such an event. He said the police department and other agencies have a good handle on what security measures are needed at large events like Syracuse Crunch games.

"We don't want to get scared by this one crazy man into making our lives into a police state. We want our freedoms," Hawkins said. "There are other ways to address gun violence."

Perez Williams also preached calm and praised the caliber of the city police force. She outlined a plan to institute a gun court in Syracuse modeled after the one in Rochester. The court would solely rule on gun-related crimes in an effort to remove weapons and violent offenders from the streets. In Rochester, that court has led to a marked decrease in gun violence since 2015.

Walsh offered his thoughts and prayers to those impacted by the Vegas shooting. He called for common sense gun legislation and a gun buyback program.

"We need to be serious about guns on our streets," he said.

When asked, he said he supports the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act.

5. Hawkins: I can win this thing

Hawkins pushed back on what he described as a narrative that he has "big ideas and little money" so he can't win. He pointed out that he earned 35 percent of the vote in a race for City Auditor in 2015 and 48 percent in a district Council race in 2013.

"I don't think your vote is for sale to the highest bidder," Hawkins said.

Hawkins has raised about $16,000 -- much less than his opponents who have each raised sums in six figures.

He urged voters to ignore a poll released Tuesday that shows he has support from just 5 percent of voters. Instead, he asked them to consider his solutions to city problems, which include creating a progressive income tax in the city to generate enough revenue to avoid insolvency.

Hawkins also plugged the Green Party candidates running for Common Council seats.

...odds and ends

Midway through the debate, candidates were asked a series of yes-or-no questions. A few points of interest on those:

Perez Williams and Lavine both said they would vote no on holding a Constitutional Convention. Hawkins and Walsh said they would vote yes.

Lavine said she would not support a $15 per hour minimum wage in Syracuse, while the others all said they would.