Boston’s mayoral candidates meet for their first head-to-head debate on Tuesday, with polls showing City Councilor John R. Connolly ahead, but state Representative Martin J. Walsh armed with a string of highly sought recent endorsements.
Since grabbing the top two spots in the Sept. 24 preliminary, Connolly and Walsh have sparred over campaign financing and police patrolmen compensation, although both had similar reactions to last week’s school bus driver’s strike.
Public polling has showed Connolly in the lead, after he placed second behind Walsh last month. Walsh, though, drew support last week from former rivals City Councilor Felix G. Arroyo, nonprofit executive John F. Barros, and the third-place preliminary finisher Charlotte Golar Richie – all of whom performed particularly well in communities of color.
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The one-hour debate, which starts at 7 p.m., will be moderated by WBZ analyst Jon Keller and feature questions from Globe reporter Akilah Johnson. It will air on WBZ-TV and WBZ-AM 1030, and streamed on cbsboston.com, boston.com and bostonglobe.com.