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Gaithersburg residents turned out in droves to question the two men running for mayor and the three men seeking two seats on the city council in the Nov. 3 election.

They peppered the candidates with questions about how overcrowding could be better managed and how candidates planned to ensure the quality of city services while faced with a continuing decline of tax revenue.

Mayor Sidney A. Katz, 59, announced at a candidates' forum Thursday that funding of a new facility for Gaithersburg High School is guaranteed in 2011 and construction should begin in 2013.

Katz complimented the teamwork of the mayor and council for working with residents and the school board for years to put pressure on the state for funding.

His opponent Richard Koch, 55, a Kentlands resident and real estate developer, said he would have had companies writing letters demanding that the 57-year-old building be rebuilt. He believes their help could have impacted the rebuilding schedule.

Councilman Michael A. Sesma, 56, who is running against Councilman Henry F. Marraffa Jr., 71, and businessman Tom Rowse, 39, for one of two council seats, said it is "irritating" to hear criticism from Koch, a political newcomer.

City elections are set for Nov. 3.

Mark Viola, 46, who attended Thursday's forum hosted by the Brighton East Community Association at Summit Hall Elementary School said he got a "definite sense of where the strengths are and what their weaknesses may be" by attending the forum.

Koch and Rowse challenged the city's Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, saying that requirements for schools are more stringent than the county's and have hindered development. Sesma promised to strengthen the APFO during the last election and helped deliver it in 2006 with stricter requirements he said would address school overcrowding.

Among other issues, candidates emphasized economic development.

"That's becoming a single issue and I don't know if that's the sole reason someone should be mayor, that a real estate developer wants to develop real estate," said Viola of Koch.

J Persensky, a former city councilman, said he wanted more specifics.

"This is a time when people start thinking new thoughts," said Persensky, who serves on four city committees and has played a role in city politics for 30 years. "It's hard to get them implemented — and some of the things we just can't do."

Candidates headed Friday to Asbury Methodist Village.

"The City of Gaithersburg is our city and we are interested in what is going on," said Genevieve Steele, 87, who helped organize Friday's forum with her husband Keith, 82.

The Democratic Club, which hosted the forum, makes a nonpartisan push every year to get voters to the polls, said the Steeles.

"You can see them with their walkers coming over from assisted living," Keith Steele said.

The last candidate forum is set for 7 p.m.

Thursday at Kentlands Stadium 8,

629 Center Point Way in the Kentlands.