By Anoushah Rasta - Reporter

Posted: 11:51 PM, September 10, 2015

Updated: 11:51 PM, September 10, 2015

Seven of the candidates running for Houston's mayor sparred off on Thursday in a debate at the Hobby Center downtown.

One of their first topics of discussion was Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance.

"It has a definition of discrimination that says if you can give an advantage to one of the protected classes, that constitutes discrimination," said candidate Bill King.

"There is too much ambiguity that it will allow a sexual predator to pretend they are female, and gain access to a sex restrictive area," said candidate Ben Hall.

"If somebody follows somebody into a restroom to prey upon them, that individual should be prosecuted and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. HERO does nothing to change that," said candidate Chris Bell.

Another big talker, potholes, traffic, and public transportation.

"The reason why all the streets are failing is due to the old way we used to finance street and drainage projects," said candidate Stephen Costello.

"It's good that we have the additional light rail lines but now we need to complement that. We need more buses, we need more bike trails," said candidate Sylvester Turner.

Candidates also answered questions about policing and inmates with mental health issues.

"The systems that are outside the jail have to be in place so that people who are homeless, people who are mentally ill, people who need better treatment don't end up in jail," said candidate Adrian Garcia.

"We do need body cameras on all police officers. It's not just to protect one or another. It's to protect citizens and police officers," said candidate Marty McVey.

Election Day is less than 2 months away, on Tuesday, Nov. 3rd.