SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- People who came to the only Syracuse mayoral forum held on the city's southside say they were looking forward to hearing the three candidates address issues of interest to the community.

"I'm very concerned about the levels of education, the issues that involve our education," resident Corey Mitchell said.

"As far as Mr. Kimatian, I wanted to know more about the curfew he supports," Paul Harold said.

"I have a home on Cannon Street that has two homes across the street that's been boarded up for at least five years," said resident Cynthia Scruggs.

Scruggs and others say they were surprised by what they saw when they arrived.

"Nobody was here to say anything but Otis Jennings," said Scruggs.

Since the forum was scheduled, canceled and rescheduled, Steve Kimatian and Stephanie Miner developed time conflicts and sent representatives instead.

"That leads me to believe they don't care about the southside."

Miner's spokesperson and Kimatian, who arrived later, say that's not the case.

"That's not true. That's why she sent me," said Miner spokesman Bruce Connor.

"Too often, this part of the city, the southside, has been left behind. It hasn't been given its equal opportunity in attention or resources. And I wanted to make sure, at least symbolically, I was here," said Kimatian.

The candidates and their spokespeople say they look forward to serving all of Syracuse's communities, including the southside.

"I would create a department of neighborhood advocacy, which would identify the needs of each neighborhood and deal with the city neighborhood by neighborhood, "said Kimatian.

"I believe that we as public officials need to also serve as missionaries to really help the people and help with the mission of young people and people in this community," Jennings said.

"We've had meetings with pastors, different organizations, brought them to the table. This is her way of saying "I want to be involved in your community," said Connor.