SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Some of the people running for Syracuse mayor are going public with their position on the issue of public power for the city.

Alfonso Davis, Otis Jennings, Stephanie Miner and Joe Nicoletti participated in a forum Tuesday hosted by the Public Power Coalition. That group has successfully lobbied for and gotten officials to commission a study on the feasibility of the project.

Davis and Miner, both Democrats, say public power deserves to be considered as one option to lower the cost of utilities in New York State.

"It's unclear right now exactly how far or how we can implement public power. But that shouldn't stop us from asking the question and doing everything we can to find out the answer," Miner said.

"We will fully look at the process and look at how we can begin to implement some things to bring public power to fruition. For me, one of the most important pieces is doing it in a way that is eco-friendly," Davis said.

Jennings, a Republican, and Nicoletti, a Democrat, both say they support the feasibility study and much more research beyond that.

"If it's 50 years ago and we're talking about Solvay, New York, a situation like that, it would be very easy for us to be in favor of it. But due to the fact it's such a complex issue, it really needs to be studied in depth," said Jennings.

"In order to make an educated decision, I think what we need to do is go into the next phase of the study so we, as a community, can have a public debate and come up with the best solution," said Nicoletti.

The first phase of the public power study is scheduled to be completed later this spring.