FRAMINGHAM — With less than five weeks remaining before election day, the candidates for mayor are preparing for a series of face-to-face meetings.

Yvonne Spicer and John Stefanini will participate in three forums and two debates ahead of Framingham’s Nov. 7 city election, including an Oct. 28 event at the Memorial Building sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Daily News.

The candidates, who topped a field of seven contenders in the preliminary election last week, will face their most pointed questioning to date on topics ranging from immigration and community policing to economic development and health care.

The two debates will also allow the candidates to challenge one another directly, presenting an opportunity for Spicer and Stefanini to contrast their ideas for Framingham’s new city government.

Stefanini, who finished a distant second in the Sept. 26 preliminary, had pushed for at least five debates, saying voters deserve a “comprehensive and robust conversation about our future.”

He criticized Spicer Wednesday for declining an invitation to at least one additional debate to which both candidates had been invited.

"Two debates is a good start,” Stefanini said, “but it falls short of what voters deserve. The forums … are opportunities to read prepared statements. Not much more. They're important ... but there's no opportunity for meaningful interaction, or for ideas to be tested."

The Framingham Business Association, a group that formed about three years ago, has invited the mayoral candidates to participate in an Oct. 11 debate at La Cantina restaurant. A spokeswoman for Spicer’s campaign confirmed Wednesday that Spicer declined the invitation from the group, which is comprised of small-business owners.

Responding to a request from the newspaper to discuss her decision, Spicer did not directly address the subject, but encouraged voters to attend one of her other public events, including “meet-ups” at several local eateries.

“I've scheduled 12 public events to provide opportunities to meet with people all across Framingham on various days and times and in different venues,” Spicer wrote. “I sincerely hope everyone can find at least one that works for them.”

Stefanini, a member of the Framingham Business Association, called on Spicer to rethink her decision not to attend the debate, saying he is “stunned that she would be so disrespectful to the economic engine of our community."

"Shutting out the small-business community, who are taxpayers and voters in our community, the economic engines of our community, from the conversation about our future is a formula to build apartments in Nobscot and not small businesses,” Stefanini said, “which the community needs."

Spicer, a vice president at the Museum of Science in Boston, led the field of seven mayoral candidates with 5,967 votes — about 54 percent of all those cast in last week’s election.

Stefanini, a former state representative and town selectman, finished in second place with 3,184 votes, or about 29 percent.

About 11,000 of the roughly 40,000 registered voters in Framingham cast ballots in the preliminary, bringing the turnout to about 27.5 percent. Spicer won in nearly every precinct, besting Stefanini in all but Precinct 15 and Precinct 18.

The mayor will serve a four-year term, beginning in January 2018. Voters will also elect 11 members to the new City Council and nine members to a new School Committee. The winners will each serve for two years.

Voters have a range of opportunities to hear the candidates speak before casting their ballots. Candidates for mayor and City Council are invited to an Oct. 19 forum at Greater Framingham Community Church. The event will focus on public education, communities of color and issues of justice, civic engagement, police and community engagement, immigration and access to health care.

On the morning of Oct. 22, the candidates for mayor will participate in their first one-on-one debate at Temple Beth Am, followed by an evening forum hosted by the Framingham Democratic Town Committee.

On Oct. 28, candidates for mayor and at-large City Council will debate in Nevins Hall in the Memorial Building. The event, hosted by the League of Women Voters and the Daily News, begins at 1 p.m. with the four at-large candidates, followed by a separate debate at 2:30 p.m. featuring Spicer and Stefanini.

The sessions will be broadcast live on the Government Channel and rebroadcast before the election. The event will also be streamed live on the Daily News Facebook page.

In one of their last meetings before the election, Spicer and Stefanini will also participate in a Nov. 2 forum at Ken’s Steak House. The event, sponsored by the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce and the Daily News, will focus on economic issues.

Voters can also hear from the City Council candidates at an Oct. 14 forum at the Memorial Building hosted by the League and the Daily News. Residents are invited to submit questions for the candidates by emailing showcasequestions@gmail.com. The event takes place from 1-4 p.m.

Jim Haddadin can be reached at 617-863-7144 or jhaddadin@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @JimHaddadin