MILWAUKEE (SPECTRUM NEWS)- - Monday the two candidates for Milwaukee mayor separately discussed some key issues in a video chat forum. Mayor Tom Barrett and State Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) spent 30 minutes each with Wisconsin Policy Forum president Rob Henken.

Both Democrats were asked whether the election should still take place next Tuesday. Barrett argued for all mail-in ballots, and suggested extending deadlines to count all the votes.

“The most practical way that honors our democracy but is consistent with public health goals is to say the election has begun, but there’s no magic in having it end on April 7,” Barrett said. “In other words, you could go 2, 3, 4 weeks and allow people to return their ballots.”

State Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) did not say she wants to delay the election, but she was critical of Barrett’s actions surrounding it. She said the mayor broke the law by visiting active polling places and shutting down early voting sites.

“This is why I’m filing a lawsuit to say that he is in violation of the Voters’ Rights Act and that this level of disenfranchisement is unacceptable,” Taylor said.

The majority of the mayoral forum focused on Milwaukee’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Taylor argued City Hall waited too long to issue major warnings about the virus.

“Because of the failed approach that the mayor has done to this, allowing the issue to get so bad before the surge, this is why we need the state and the National Guard and whoever else to come help us,” Taylor said.”

The mayor defended his administration’s response to the pandemic, noting the city closed bars and restaurants and issued stay-at-home orders before the state took action.

“We started taking actions before we had a serious issue with the number of people testing positive because I could see this coming,” Barrett said.

In closing remarks, the mayor said the city needs stability right now, and his fifth term would secure that. Taylor argued it is a time for change and a larger focus outside of downtown Milwaukee.

“I want to be the steady hand that navigates through this. This is not the time to come in and have task forces to try to reinvent this stuff,” Barrett said. “The decisions we’re making, we’re making on an hourly basis to try to move this city foward.”

“[Barrett] does not think about equity,” Taylor said. “He is not concerned about that, and he is not concerned about equity in our neighborhoods and about businesses growing in our communities.”

Mail-in absentee ballots for the April 7 primary must be postmarked by April 2 in order to be counted.