ST. LOUIS – The two candidates for St. Louis City Aldermanic President opened up the floor for questions Wednesday night in north St. Louis.

Alderman Jack Coatar and Alderwoman Megan Green spoke on the issues coming up in this election and what they feel needs to be done in the city. Both issued support for Amendment 3, the bill looking to legalize recreational marijuana in the state of Missouri. Their opinions differed on other hot topics, including the role of police and whether the department should be defunded.

“I think it’s very similar to what I’ve been saying all night, that we’ve been asking police to do a lot of things that aren’t their job,” Green said.

“You can’t send a social worker to deal with someone who’s having a mental health crisis in the middle of the night without someone in the background to keep that social worker safe,” Coatar said.

Coatar and Green face off in the November 8 election to replace former board of alderman president Lewis Reed who pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges.