The Ward 8 forum. (Pardon the crappy iPhone picture.)

Maybe Mayor Adrian Fenty and Vince Gray both had good days, or maybe both recognized that last week’s Ward 4 mayoral cage match got a little too heated and negative. Whatever the reasons, both Gray and Fenty largely steered clear of each other at last night’s Ward 8 forum, held in an auditorium on the St. Elizabeth’s campus. In fact, the whole event was basically structured to be what Ward 4 wasn’t — well-moderated, insightful and of actual use to the undecided voter.

In a tightly controlled setting — moderator Tom Sherwood ran a tight ship, closely hewing to rules that allowed only 30 seconds for opening and closing statements and 15 seconds for responses — six mayoral hopefuls fielded questions on everything from services for senior citizens to abandoned properties to whether or not they’d be willing to go to jail for the cause of D.C. voting rights and statehood.

Fenty, who appeared a few minutes late, abandoned his strident attacks on Gray in favor of his campaign’s initial theme — results. In his opening statement, he proudly declared that under his watch, crime in the District has fallen to historic lows, while school test scores have risen to historic highs. In a response to a question on what he wishes for wards 7 and 8, he passionately spoke about education, calling it the “great equalizer.” And yes, he even managed to agree with Gray on the need for a comprehensive strategy for statehood.

Gray proved again that he’s a proud policy wonk, talking in detail about school funding, the need for better case management in mental health services, libraries, the sale of drug paraphernalia in corner stores, and the D.C. Council’s complex structure of taxes on abandoned properties. He also sounded a theme that is of particular concern in Ward 8 — jobs and economic development.