There were 25 candidates at the first of two election forums at the Mayfair Theatre, but while some expected a big crowd in the suburb that has emerged as one of the major issues of the election, only about 50 people turned up.
Those 50, however, made up one of the more fired-up crowds so far.
That came through in an extended public question time at the forum, where, while South Dunedin issues came to the fore, city debt, the future of Dunedin Hospital and problems caused by alcohol also cropped up.
Candidates were given two minutes to respond to a set question about their vision for the suburb in 2030 before the evening was turned over to questions from the audience.
Mayor Dave Cull was asked if he planned to apologise for infrastructure failures that led to last year's floods.
He responded he had acknowledged a blocked pump had contributed to the flooding, and staff had apologised for misinforming him on what was an operational issue.
An 84-year-old woman said Civil Defence had not let people know what was happening on the night of the flooding, and the council call centre had also not been any help, and asked Mr Cull to explain.
He told her a problem with communications was one of the lessons learned on the night, but there would soon be a new appointment in Civil Defence and ``I hope we can do a better job next time''.
Candidates were asked what they would do about alcohol issues in Dunedin, and a growing culture of antisocial behaviour.
Wayne Idour said there was a ``devil's triangle'' of the council, the University of Otago and police who did nothing about the issue.
Mr Idour, who serves as a commissioner on the council's liquor licensing committee, said he would instigate meetings with police to insist on more staff to deal with the issue.
Other issues raised by the audience included support for people with disabilities and support for new businesses in the city.
