In partnership with the non-partisan League of Women Voters of Rensselaer County, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will host the 2023 City of Troy mayoral candidate forum on October 3 at 6 p.m. at the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC). A reception will follow.  

The event is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to register online. Those who register can submit questions in advance to the nominees.

The forum will feature Nina Nichols, Democratic nominee and current Rensselaer County legislator, and Carmella Mantello, Republican nominee and current president of the Troy City Council.

“We are pleased to partner with RPI in this non-partisan Troy mayoral candidate forum. The event reinforces our commitment to provide accurate information about candidates running for any office and especially for a local office that so directly impacts every person, business, and institution in Troy,” said Shirley Buel, president of the League of Women Voters of Rensselaer County.

RPI President Marty Schmidt will kick off the evening with welcoming remarks. The candidate forum will be moderated by NEWS10 ABC’s evening anchor, Lydia Kulbida.

“Troy has been RPI’s home for almost 200 years, and our histories are deep and intertwined,” Schmidt said. “As we work together to strengthen Troy and the Capital Region, events like this bring our community together and spark lively and important conversations about the future of our city.”  

Nichols and Mantello will face off in the EMPAC Concert Hall, a space known for its remarkable acoustics and cutting-edge architecture.

The Troy mayoral election is set for November 7.