Although Mayor Vince Gray was the only mayoral candidate not in attendance at last night’s Loose Lips forum, his presence was probably felt more than any other candidate actually there.

“My first question is for Mayor Vincent Gray,” asked NBC4’s Tom Sherwood, one of the debate’s moderators. Of course, that went unanswered. Instead, he asked the candidates a tough opening question—if they’d still support Gray if we wins the Democratic primary. Councilmembers Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and Vincent Orange (D-At Large), as well as candidate Carlos Allen, said they would out of party loyalty, while everyone else—Councilmembers Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), and Reta Jo Lewis and Andy Shallal — said they wouldn’t. That question was followed up by another toughie: Who do you believe? Jeff Thompson or Vince Gray. No one said they believed Gray.

But last night’s debate, held at the Black Cat, wasn’t all about the Jeff Thompson allegations at Vince Gray (though it circled back to that quite often). Among the other topics covered by candidates was marijuana legalization, education, affordable housing, and dealing with the city’s evolving demographic makeup. Evans brought up how the neighborhood was once known as a haven for “drugs and prostitution” (which prompted a hearty cheer from the rowdy crowd) and discussed how much it’s changed, while Shallal often alluded to D.C. as a “tale of two cities,” saying that politics in D.C. haven’t changed because of two words: “Uncle Earl.” Lewis said that D.C. politics is in need of an “extreme makeover,” stressing that there needs to be more affordable housing.

In response to a question from the Washington Informer’s James Wright about the District’s adult illiteracy rate, most candidates agreed that there needs to be more money and resources invested in making adult literacy programs more widely available.

As to whether they’d support the marijuana legalization referendum that was proposed by The D.C. Cannabis Campaign and recently got ballot approval from the D.C. Board of Elections, all candidates said they’d support it, with the exception of Lewis, who said she supports decriminalization over legalization. She did, however, say that she would support it if it passed the voter measure.

But things remained relatively calm until the debate reached a round where candidates were allowed to ask each other specific questions. Wells—who has proudly touted that his campaign is running on “clean money”—was grilled by both Bowser and Orange for being “duped” by Jeff Thompson. “Why is it you can be duped and it’s okay?” Orange asked. “Why is it you can be Mr. Clean while things around you are so dirty?” Shortly after, Wells and Bowser got into it about campaign contributions.

In one of the final questions of the night, the candidates were asked how they’d improve D.C.’s middle schools. Most agreed that the root of the problem starts earlier, and that they’d work to improve education for students at an early age. “Having an Alice Deal for all doesn’t solve the problem of middle schools,” Orange quipped. And while most of the candidates agreed that, while “Alice Deal for all” is a great slogan, it isn’t a great plan.

Thanks to the Washington City Paper, you can listen to last night’s debate below: