RICHMOND, Va. -- With hundreds of their fellow peers looking on, three Armstrong High School students hosted and moderated a first-of-its-kind mayoral forum at Armstrong High School Thursday.
One put on by students and for students, with kids from several East End schools in attendance.
Ty'Asia Tolson-Wilkerson, Renecia Allen, and Zion Lundy say they were excited to lead the first-of-its-kind debate.
"Now that's over I feel like I did good and I thought the event was good," Tolson-Wilkerson said.
Named after the city's first Black mayor, the Henry Marsh mayoral forum featured all five mayoral candidates.
While only three students were on stage, the event was the work of the entire AP Government class who had been preparing since the start of the school year.
"In a republic as big as America, is not very often that we can interact with our elected officials. So I believe that it's good for us to be able to do that," Armstrong senior Kahrell Hightower said.
As a class, they put together questions for the candidates, including about funding for RPS, replacing old school buildings, and a question about the impact gun violence has on students.
"This is not something ordinary. It's not something normal that's supposed to happen every day," senior Amaria Martin said. "Therefore, it was an important question to bring up."
Some students say they heard the answers they were expecting to hear, while others add it was a good introduction to the candidates.
While many in the class are 17, a few are or will be 18 by November 5, and can cast a ballot.
"It helped me see what they're about, what they want to do, their perspectives. I got a vibe, a little feel from them," Martin said.
And when those in the audience arrive at the polls, this class can say they've helped get them ready to do their civic duty.
"Because if we want to see a change, you're going to have to vote for that change and someone that's going to make that change, every vote counts," Allen said.
Following the debate, several of the candidates sat down for lunch with the AP class.
Meanwhile, CBS 6 hosted its own mayoral debate earlier this week and you can watch that, below.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
