From left to right: David Hernandez, Walter Moore, Craig Rubin and Phil Jennerjahn.
(Mark Evitt)

Six candidates participated at the mayoral debate on the USC campus Thursday.

Antonio Villaraigosa might not face stiff competition as he campaigns for re-election as Los Angeles mayor. But behind his mainstream television and radio campaign, nine relatively unknown candidates scratch and claw for a shot at his job. 

Five of those running, plus one write-in candidate, participated Thursday in a mayoral debate at the University of Southern California that, while touching on many of the most crucial issues facing the city, often became snippy and consisted largely of the candidates lobbing personal attacks at one another.

Check the backgrounds on some of these people," said Walter Moore, a candidate who also ran against Villaraigosa in 2005. "[Phil] Jennerjahn is a 42-year-old unemployed man who dropped out of law school. If you really look at his background, I think you'll be interested."

Moore is a 50-year-old business trial lawyer from Los Angeles and a graduate of Princeton University. Having raised more than $100,000 for his campaign, Moore is widely considered to be the most serious candidate throwing his hat into the ring this year. Jennerjahn, the pool's most prominent conservative voice, opted not to respond to Moore's provocation. But some of his answers were just as inflammatory.

"I can't stand all this nonsense about solar panels," Jennerjahn said in response to a question about green energy. "All of this Age of Aquarius, green, dancing in the fields stuff is just nonsense. We have burning coal, and we have enough coal for hundreds of years. Plus it's cheap." 

The other candidates present at the debate, David Hernandez, Craig Rubin, Carlos Alvarez and write-in candidate Stevan Torres, also weighed in on green energy, mostly in opposition to Jennerjahn's view. They also offered lengthy commentaries on how to tackle crime and the economy. 

"The capitalist free market was what got us into this mess in the first place," said Alvarez, 22, the Party for Socialism and Liberation candidate. "The corporations are the reason we're here." 

David Hernandez, 60, tackled the city budget issue with more specificity, citing Villaraigosa's salary as an exacerbating factor.

"The mayor makes more than $200,000. I'll cut that," he said. "Nobody should be making that much right now. I'll do it for $65,000." 

Thursday night's outing, sponsored by USC's Political Student Assembly, was not the first time some of these six candidates had come together to debate. A few said they had attended five debates total, including one at UCLA earlier in the week where tensions ran so high, police intervention was required to settle a dispute between two candidates. 

Craig Rubin, a pastor and an actor best known for his appearances on the Showtime series "Weeds," said the conflict arose when David "Zuma Dogg" Saltsburg, a candidate not present at Thursday night's debate, laid out his 15-point plan. 

"It was funny, the way he was talking about a 15-point plan," Rubin said. "So Walter Moore leans in to me and whispers, 'It's the swiss army knife of public policy,' and I start laughing. It was funny. I meant no disrespect. Anyway, Zuma Dogg erupts and storms out, then calls me the next morning telling me he's going to slit my throat."  

Rubin called the police, who arrested Saltsburg during a later debate, then released him hours later. As a precaution, three Los Angeles Police Department officers and two USC Department of Public Safety officers stood guard Thursday night. 

Despite their passionate behavior during the debate, most of the candidates acknowledged that they were probably not riding winning tickets to the mayor's office. A few, including Alvarez, said they are running to publicize greater messages. 

"On March 4, I probably won't be mayor," Alvarez said. "I do think it's important for a socialist message to be out there. I don't believe necessarily that lasting change comes through elections. It comes through struggle by the minority." 

Moore, though, insisted that his chance at winning is very real, and that he expects a close race.

"It's all about money and turnout," he said. "I learned that the hard way. Turnout in these elections is very low."

Moore also noted his responsibility to his supporters, including Althea Shaw, whose nephew, Jamiel Shaw,  was murdered last year by an undocumented immigrant. Althea Shaw came to the debate Thursday night to support Moore. 

Last year Moore drafted Jamiel's Law, a hotly contested ordinance that cracks down on gang members who are undocumented immigrants. Althea Shaw said she supported Moore in honor of her nephew. 

"If you have a candidate who wants to target gangs and illegal immigration you have a good starting point," Shaw said. "Do you want a mayor who gets the gang bangers of the street or do you want a mayor who spends his time planting trees?"