Mayoral candidates duke it out in debate tonight

The five top contenders to succeed Antonio Villaraigosa as LA’s next mayor will face off in a live televised debate at UCLA’s Royce Hall tonight at 7 p.m. The forum will feature LA City Council members Eric Garcetti and Jan Perry, City Controller Wendy Greuel, entertainment lawyer Kevin James (the lone Republican in the pack) and former technology executive Emanuel Pleitez.

The debate will be broadcast live, commercial free, on NBC4 from 7 to 8 p.m. and will continue as a live webcast from 8 to 8:30 p.m. at www.nbcla.com.

Over at KPCC, Frank Stoltze writes, “here’s the biggest thing to remember in the race to succeed Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: most voters have paid little attention to it, and remain undecided.”

As the March election approaches, this is a good opportunity for voters to catch up on candidates’ messages.

(In another recent debate, the candidates tangled over how to handle LA’s proliferation of medical marijuana shops, a topic we tackled last week on “Which Way, LA?”)