PROVO — Survivors of the primary election continued their quest for political office in Provo at a public forum Thursday at Provo City Hall.

All eight remaining candidates participated, answering questions that included zoning issues, involving Brigham Young University students in Provo politics, emergency preparedness and the future of parks and recreation in Provo.

The event was not a debate — each candidate had one minute for a general statement, then was given a strictly enforced two-minute period to answer each question.

For many of the candidates, the discussion centered around iProvo — the city's fiber-optic system — a key topic that was not only given its own question, but also referred to by many of the candidates in response to other questions.

Mayoral candidate Dave Bailey, the first candidate to speak, instantly brought the subject up in his opening remarks, saying improving the iProvo project is one of his main goals.

"One of my goals is to regain trust of people in iProvo project, because we're in it for $40 million and we need to make it work," Bailey said.

When asked how he would improve Provo, Bailey returned to the iProvo subject, expressing concern about lagging subscription numbers and revenues short of projections.

Mayor Lewis K. Billings acknowledged that the project has struggled in some areasbut said it is healthy overall. iProvo is $300,000 ahead of schedule in its budget, he said, and already has 3,000 subscribers.

"We'll make it, and it will be good for Provo," Billings said.

Incumbent councilman Paul Warner defended iProvo, saying voters would be "impressed" with the amount of time the council spent studying the project.

Warner said the project is already lowering prices for Internet customers, even those not on the iProvo network, because other companies have sensed the incoming competition.

Councilwoman Cindy Richards also defended the $40 million investment.

"Part of why I was such a strong supporter (of iProvo) all along was not only because I had such confidence in the business plan, but secondly because it takes it to every citizen in Provo, to all walks of life," Richards said.

But Richards' challenger, Adam Clark, questioned the decisionmaking process behind iProvo, saying council members failed to share their vision with the public.

"Vision is an interesting word, because vision is shared," Clark said. "I, as a citizen, wish that vision would have been shared."

Another hot topic candidates discussed was the future of mass transit in Utah County.