On Nov. 7, voters in Dorchester will choose between two finalists— John FitzGerald and Joel Richards — to succeed Frank Baker as District 3’s city councillor.

Last Thursday (Oct. 19), the candidates were invited to participate in a forum at the Vietnamese American Initiative for Development (VietAID) center on Charles Street in Fields Corner.

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Before the forum started, the two men greeted a small crowd that had gathered to hear them discuss policy positions and their plans for the district

FitzGerald was the top vote get in September’s preliminary election, finishing with 43 percent of the vote in a 7-person field. Richards qualified for the November balloting with his second-place finish on Sept. 13 as he garnered some 19 percent of the 6,450 votes cast.

“We feel that the result was great, so let’s just continue doing what we’re doing,” said FitzGerald when asked about his ongoing campaign. “We haven’t changed much in our approach of knocking on doors and going to events.” 

GHB reporter Tori Bedford, who moderated the forum, explained that each candidate would have two minutes for opening and closing statements and one minute to answer questions. 

Richards spoke first, and noted his experience as “a teacher, pastor, and father.”

He told the audience of about 40 people that that included his wife and three children, “I keep saying I’m running on nothing political, it’s actually personal,”

FitzGerald’s family plays a large role in his political journey as well, the candidate said.

“I love two things, my family and this city and I would like to see those two things stay together,” he said. “I think about how I want to stay in this city. I said to myself, ‘John if you want to stay in this city, you have to go get a seat at the table.’” 

The hour-long forum covered a wide variety of topics from education and youth violence to concrete actions that each candidate will initiate to solve the housing crisis.

Both men mostly agreed on the need for improving Boston Public Schools. Richards, a teacher and member of the Boston Teachers Union, has two sons in city schools who attend separate schools with the same start time and different end times.

“We need to know where our kids are going for 12 years,” he said. “People leave because they don’t know where their daughter or son is going to go to middle school,” said Richards. 

FitzGerald, a planner for the Boston Planning and Development Authority, is also the father of three and his two children attend the same school.

“We do live on the same street as our school and it is something that makes me very, very happy,” said FitzGerald. “I still get to walk them to school every day and that’s the best part of my day.”

In an interview with the Reporter, Richards said, “I really want to be that person that has serious conversations about schools and brings parent groups together. Let’s form a vision for what we want our schools on this side of town to really look like and be for our students and for our families.” 

FitzGerald, who has coached baseball, flag football, and soccer teams in the neighborhood, said that he has his eye on developing a cohesive youth sports program in the neighborhood.

“I want to do an umbrella over Dorchester youth sports where it makes it easier for parents to pick the schedule for their kids,” he said, adding that once parents’ lives are made easier through streamlined scheduling, they can direct more attention to improving BPS.  

Through the improvement of schools, Richards and FitzGerald said they hope to see fewer Bostonians departing from the city.

In his closing statement, Richards said, “We need to be focused on what’s going on in our community and keeping Bostonians in Boston. We have a housing crisis for a reason. Our schools are falling apart for a reason. I want to be that person to bring a fresh perspective and to bring the community with me. I want to get in there and do the work to solve it.” 

In his windup, FitzGerald said, “What sets me apart is the 17 years of experience. In a smaller city like Boston where everything is built on relationships, I have 17 years of that. There’s not a lot of difference between us. We’re dads with three kids and we love our city and want to stay. Joel is a great candidate and friend and it’s been an honor to run against him.”

Whoever wins on Nov. 7 will be seated on the council in January. Frank Baker, who decided not to seek an additional term earlier this year, will remain the District 3 delegate until then. Baker, who has held the seat since 2011, endorsed FitzGerald before the preliminary election.

One clear difference between FitzGerald and Richards has shown itself in the fundraising department. FitzGerald has a huge advantage in the closing days of the race, with $109,678 on hand as of the end of September, according to the state’s Office of Political and Campaign Finance (OCPF), which tracks donations and expenditures as reported by the campaigns. He spent about $33,000 in the month of September alone, much of it on direct mail to voters.

For his part, Richards spent about $9,600 last month— and only had about $6,000 on hand as of Sept. 30.

Reporter staff contributed to this article.