The four candidates running to be Butler’s next mayor will debate Wednesday evening, at an event at the Grand Ballroom, 201 S. Main St.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is being sponsored and hosted by the Butler Eagle and Butler Downtown. It will begin at 6 p.m. and will be moderated by Ron Vodenichar, the newspaper’s general manager and publisher.

The candidates will each get a chance to answer a series of questions dealing with Butler’s economic condition, the opioid crisis, the condition of the city’s parks and other topics as time allows.

The questions were compiled through a selection process that included members of Butler Downtown and the editorial staff of the newspaper. The group also invited members of the public to submit potential questions for the candidates. That process concluded on April 18.

The debate will feature the four candidates for Butler mayor who will appear on voters’ primary election ballots this spring. Wednesday’s debate will be broadcast live by Butler Radio Network. The event also will be shown on Armstrong Cable Channel 10.

This year’s mayoral race is a crowded affair, with three Republicans — council member Michael Walter; Benjamin Smith, who is the co-owner of Reclamation Brewing; and incumbent Mayor Tom Donaldson — competing in the Republican primary election on May 16.

Democrat Jamie Lee Goehring, the co-owner of Hudson Business Service, is the only candidate on the ballot for the Democratic primary election, which occurs on the same day.

The Republican winner and Goehring will face off in the general election on Nov. 7. The mayor is paid $10,000 per year, and the winner is elected to a four-year term.