It was the first in a series of "meet the candidates"evenings hosted by the Dunedin Ratepayers and Householders Association.
Association chairman Lyndon Weggery said the numbers of candidates would be limited at each of the eight planned city council candidate evenings in the coming weeks to make the events more "manageable".
Every candidate had been invited to indicate a preference for a meeting and those who got in early attended last night, he said.
Incumbent councillors Andrew Whiley and Rachel Elder were joined on stage by candidates Rob Waide, Chris McBride, Randal Scott, Marita Johnson and Lynette Scott.
Each candidate had three minutes to introduce themselves before they answered "yes or no" questions from the association and the floor was opened for questions from the crowd of about 40 people.
All seven candidates gave a "no" when asked whether they supported Three Waters reforms.
There was also a unanimous "no" from all candidates on whether Smooth Hill should be used as a landfill site.
There was also unanimous support for Dunedin’s small businesses.
There were mixed views on building more social housing in the city, supporting co-governance, a rates cap of 5%, returning George St to a two-way street, and trialling groynes on Middle Beach, near St Clair.
Former Dunedin city councillor Colin Weatherall, who was there last night, said it was the biggest turnout to a pre-election meeting in Brighton in the past 30 years.
He said the future of the Smooth Hill landfill proposal, stormwater infrastructure and footpaths in the community, affordability and bus services were all big issues this year.
The second city council candidate evening is in Mosgiel tomorrow.
An Otago Regional Council candidates meeting is planned later this month and a mayoral forum is scheduled for September 13 in Dunedin.
