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GREENSBORO — Amiable. Thoughtful. And quick.

Mayoral candidates Yvonne Johnson and Milton Kern found common ground — protecting the environment, spurring economic development, saving water — during their first forum Thursday night.

About 45 people attended the hourlong forum, sponsored by the Democratic Women of Guilford County. The race is nonpartisan, but both candidates are Democrats.

There's not a primary in the mayor's race. Johnson and Kern face each other on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Johnson has served on the City Council since 1993. She is executive director of One Step Further, a nonprofit that offers nonviolent offenders an alternative to prison. Kern is a developer responsible for some of downtown Greensboro's recent redevelopment.

Unlike Johnson, who knew most there by first name, Kern is battling for recognition — he was introduced by the moderator as Milton "Kerns." He fiddled with his reading glasses and, before the forum, quietly owned up to some first-time candidate jitters.

The crowd warmed to him quickly, though, especially when he called for more civility in politics.

"I'm running against a nice lady," Kern said. "If I weren't running, I'd vote for her."

As a matter of fact, the candidates disagree on little, or so it appeared Thursday. Both promised to vote against clear-cutting wooded areas "in most instances." Both support the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, saying it would boost downtown's redevelopment. They agreed that the area needs water restrictions, and that area leaders need to plan ahead so there's enough water 40 years from now.

"The growth will stop if we don't have the water," Kern said.

Johnson said the city should have been more forthcoming with details of the recent police department scandal, saying leaders could have followed the law by blacking out names in various reports on questionable activities in the department.

She said in the future, the city will do that, "or I will just be civilly disobedient."

Both nodded when forum attendee Elaine Jones complained there aren't enough street lights in the city. Both agreed the city was right to close Barber Park temporarily while workers address contaminated soil there.

And both had some creative ideas for solving Greensboro's problems: Johnson wondered if excess water from flooded areas could be shipped to drought-stricken regions. Kern said the state could reduce taxes for average citizens if doctors and lawyers had to pay sales tax on their business transactions.

It was a Johnson-heavy crowd, however. She's a familiar face among Democratic women, and most who came to the forum were openly supportive of her.

That fact wasn't lost on Johnson. A campaign worker asked state Sen. Katie Dorsett if she could deliver a "Yvonne Johnson for Mayor" T-shirt to Dorsett's home.

Johnson overheard.

"And put a sign in her yard while you're at it," she said.

Contact Margaret Moffett Banks at 373-7031 or mbanks@news-record.com