Come election day, Fresno voters who don't know where the two candidates to replace Alan Autry as mayor stand on issues will really have no excuse.

If you count the primary season, there have already been more than a dozen debates or forums, all but a few of them open to the public.

In fact, tonight's forum was the second in two days at the same location and the third event since Saturday. And there are six more debates scheduled in the next 30 days.

Tonight, Henry T. Perea and Ashley Swearengin talked about public safety, city finances, redevelopment, immigration and even same-sex marriage at the No-Name Fellowship Candidate Forum at Cornerstone Church. There was no new ground broken.

Both are young, successful and bright candidates who have a good grasp of the issues.

Both emphasized the importance of public safety, and recognized the need to improve the way Fresno does business.

The format was different, though, with a group of pastors asking questions to one candidate at a time while the other was backstage in what Pastor Jim Franklin of Cornerstone Church called the "Cone of Silence."

At times, it seemed the cone had sprung a leak because many of the answers were very similar.

Credit Perea, in a room full of conservative Christians, for explaining his opposition to Proposition 8, which would amend the state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Perea, who was raised Roman Catholic, said he believes in that definition, but doesn't want to amend the constitution in a way that would force a segment of the population to lose their rights.

"I will vote against turning my faith into a constitutional amendment," Perea said.

Swearengin also did well, especially on immigration. She said the issue affected every level of government, and deserved the mayor's attention.

"The role of the mayor is to be an advocate for issues that impact cities," Swearengin said. "In this case, the people impacted by our government policies are the same ones we are trying to serve in Fresno."