Apart from the political lawn signs, of which hands down there are more Picozzi signs than any other, one might wonder if there is a Warwick mayoral election this year.

There is a race, and two candidates other than incumbent Frank Picozzi are vying for that corner office in Warwick City Hall, although some media outlets have failed to mention that. And in the week ahead there will be more than one occasion to see and hear not only Picozzi, but Democratic candidate Leah Hazelwood and independent Patrick Maloney, on the same stage.

It all starts on Oct. 8 when the candidates have been invited to speak before the Conimicut Village Association meeting, starting at 7 p.m. at the Woodbury Union Church, Presbyterian, and continues the following evening, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. at the Wethersfield condo clubhouse, which is limited to Wethersfield residents. Then, on the afternoon of Thursday, Oct. 10 at 3:30 p.m., the Warwick Beacon will host an hour-long mayoral debate at the Warwick Public Library on Sandy Lane.

The mayoral debate, open to the public, will be moderated by Channel 10 news anchor Gene Valicenti, with Beacon editor John Howell and former long-time Providence Journal reporter Barbara Polichetti serving as panelists.

The debate will be live-streamed on the library Facebook page, and viewable on the Warwick Beacon website. It will also be easily available for replay. There will be limited seating at the library on a first-come, first-serve basis. Some seating will be reserved for candidate family members and key campaign staff members.

And what do the mayoral candidates expect to be talking about?

For sure, it won’t be the story that has soaked up a lot of time on local news channels and Providence Journal ink — the Washington Bridge. That’s not to say the closure of the westbound bridge isn’t of concern to Warwick.  Not surprisingly the focus will be on hyper local issues.

It’s heating up following the lead story in Monday’s Providence Journal that focused on Picozzi and Hazelwood, but omitted Maloney.

Picozzi listed new schools, finances, economic development and the airport as topics he expects to come up. Four years ago, the condition of roads, delayed trash and recycling collections and the closure of McDermott pool would have likely been on his list, but not today.

Maloney focused on what he considers the most important city issue — city finances. Observing that people don’t take the time to go to City Council meetings, he advocates greater transparency. More importantly, he believes the city is on the cusp of a fiscal crisis now that $38 million in federal COVID recovery money is gone and property owners will be faced with higher taxes.

“These guys are jumping ship,” he says of the four council members not seeking reelection. Unless there are changes he sees years of maximum tax increases that will drive residents and small businesses out of the city.

Asked in an email what she thought would be key issues in the debate, Hazelwood replied, “I am still considering many topics at this time. I have many important points before me, but as the date approaches I will be more detailed in my responses.”

In the Journal story, however, she cited taxes, vacant city stores, need for more trash trucks and the need to increase the speed to issue building permits as issues. In the story she also said the Democratic leadership had not recruited her to run for mayor.

On Tuesday, Picozzi noted that since he’s been mayor, taxes have been raised 1.97% and that was because of schools, that there are far fewer vacant stores and that the city has acquired new trash trucks and routes are being covered. As for the issuance of permits, he said much of that is state regulated. He said only days before her announcement for mayor, Hazelwood expressed an interest in running for city council.

In the Beacon debate, candidates will be given one-minute opening and closing statements, 30 seconds to answer a question, and at the discretion of the news panel and moderator, the chance for rebuttals.

The format for the Conimicut forum, starting at 7 p.m., is designed for candidates representing the village, other than school committee candidates, to speak about themselves and give the audience an idea of who they are, said Conimicut Village Association president Leslie Derrig.

In addition to the three mayoral candidates, Ward 4 candidates Sal DeLuise (D) and Joanne Miller (I), Rep. Dist. 22 incumbent Joseph Solomon Jr. (D) and David Stone (R), Rep. District 21 candidates Marie Hopkins (R) and James McElroy (D), and Senate Dist. 29 incumbent Anthony DeLuca (R) and Peter Appollonio (D), whose names will appear on the Conimicut neighborhood ballot, have been invited to speak at the meet the candidates night. Derrig has requested the candidates steer clear of negatively speaking of one another and focus on “who they are as a person.”

Debbie Rich, who had a role in inviting candidates to Wethersfield Commons, expects Congressional candidates or their representatives in addition to local candidates will be in attendance at the clubhouse gathering.  She said Wethersfield Commons residents would have the opportunity to speak one-on-one with the candidates. The candidates would not be making statements or answering questions of the group.