Six of the eight candidates for City Council At-Large appeared together for an in-person forum last week.

Up on the stage in the lower hall of St. Brendan’s church, the six candidates included incumbents Michael Flaherty and Julia Mejia, as well as newcomers Ruthzee Louijeune and Bridget Nee-Walsh, and two making their second City Council run, David Halbert and Erin Murphy.

Two candidates, Carla Monteiro and Althea Garrison, were unable to make the forum.

Voters get to vote for up to four candidates on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

The candidates were asked questions about new developments that could overwhelm the neighborhood and supporting opposition to new electronic billboards along the expressway.

They were also asked about Acting Mayor Kim Janey’s executive order banning tents and temporary shelters in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, which has become a site plagued by human trafficking, sexual assault and potential overdoses.

“She should’ve done it months ago,” Flaherty said.

Halbert said the executive order shows “how desperate the situation has become.” More clinicians, social workers and beds are needed, he added, as well as “out of the box thinking,” such as supervised drug consumption sites.

Louijeune called for a “housing first” model to be implemented, as well as a “Mass and Cass czar” who would work with state officials. City officials should not be opening new criminal records in attempts to clear out the people at the site, she added.

Mejia said she had been to the site earlier in the week and spoken with employees of companies in the area who don’t feel safe. But, she added, “We have to address this with compassion. We can’t arrest ourselves out of this situation.” Gov. Charlie Baker should ask surrounding communities to help alleviate the problems there, according to Mejia.

Murphy said she had loved ones at the Long Island recovery center before the bridge and the road to the center were closed due to safety concerns. Boston has been locked in a legal battle over Quincy, which opposes reconstruction of the bridge. “We need to stop talking about it and roll up our sleeves,” she said, and “untie” the hands of the police, who say they need warrants before they go in.

Nee-Walsh called the closing of the recovery center a “travesty” and criticized Janey for not going far enough. “She’s still wearing little kid gloves,” she said. “The first tent that went up should’ve been taken down.”

The forum was sponsored by a coalition of Dorchester civic groups, including Cedar Grove, Port Norfolk, Lower Mills, Pope’s Hill, Ashmont- Adams, and Clam Point. District 3 Councillor Frank Baker was also a co-sponsor.

Reporter managing editor Gintautas Dumcius and the paper’s correspondent, Katie Trojano, moderated the forum.