Mayor Robert Palmieri has led Utica for the last eight-years while Joseph Marino has also served the city during that time as common councilman.
Both agree Utica is in a better place.
"We have had six successful surpluses. We've had 13 abandoned commercial buildings that the city owned that we have repurposed, sold, and millions of dollars have been invested into our city," Palmieri said.
As an accountant, Marino said he's helped cut proposed budgets to ease the burden on taxpayers, but said Uticans should be getting more services for their money.
"Right now, they're currently getting fewer services but paying 20-percent more in taxes and I don't think that that's fair. I think that the opportunity for my knowledge, and my skill set, went a long way in the last eight years," Marino said.
Both candidates support the hospital project, but Marino says he wants more information about it.
"I'm not against the location of the hospital, but now I'm concerned about the financial burden that it's going to lay on the city taxpayers."
There have been several controversial topics in the city of Utica in the last few years. From placing the former Fire Chief on medical leave to now a housing project in south Utica, but the mayor says he's always done the right thing.
"I always say 'you can never get caught telling the truth'. That's the motto of my administration. That's the motto that I prefer and what I want. Any development that we have, they have to make sure, whoever it may be, has to follow the same rules and regulations as everybody does," Palmieri said.
Palmieri's opponent said more transparency is needed.
"There's a lot that is going good around here, but imagine if we had good leadership, from the city level, where we could be. That's what I want to bring to the city," said Marino.
Mayor Robert Palmieri is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines while Joseph Marino is running on the Independent line.
Matt Arcuri is running on the Republican and Conservative party lines. He declined an on-camera interview.