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"The chamber believes there is a housing crisis and this business of retaining or attracting young adults has been a real drumbeat lately," Southeast Conference Executive Director Murray Walsh said. "You look at the actual statistics in the recent census work and it's pretty frightening."

All the candidates agreed a correlation exists between a lack of affordable housing in Juneau and the exodus of young professionals from the community.

Christian, who has worked as a speech therapist for the Juneau School District, said if the city is serious about retaining and recruiting young adults, wages need to increase or housing costs need to decrease.

"We need to have housing that young people at different economic levels can afford," she said.

Chambers, a small business owner, said affordable housing is the "No. 1 crisis" in Juneau. She also cited the need for a second channel crossing, saying it would open up land for the development of affordable housing for young people, Chambers said.

"I also support Juneau Access for those same reasons," she said.

Stone said expanding the area's sewers should be a priority. Improved sewer lines would be the "backbone" to increase housing density and drive down the cost of housing in Juneau, he said.

Stopha, a commercial fisherman, said the issue needs to be addressed because housing prices continue to climb while the school populations have seen a downward trend in recent years. A supporter of multi-family housing, such as tri-plexes and townhomes, Stopha acknowledged it's a complex issue.

"I don't have an easy answer," he said.

Affordable housing is a contributing factor to the loss of young professionals in the community but other issues need to be taken into account as well, Hansen Gress Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Hansen said. The issue needs to be explored more in-depth by local leaders, said the 23-year-old founder of an information technology firm.

"I think I'd like to see the issue go beyond affordable housing," Hansen said. "I think affordable housing is important, although I think there are several other factors, both economic infrastructure and communitywide issues that are vital."

Money is not always the motivating factor when young professionals decide to leave or stay in Juneau, he said.

"I'd like people to look beyond the economic indicators and look for some other creative solutions and really spend some time on why businesses are having a hard time affording the youth," he said.

The Juneau Chamber of Commerce is working on affordable housing because a decline in the population of young adults adversely affects local businesses, Chief Executive Officer Cathie Roemmich said.

"We have a stagnant population," she said. "We're losing our young people. Our school numbers are declining. If we don't get affordable housing, and soon, we're going to lose more people in our community and that's not good for business."

The chamber, with more than 300 members, works to develop, advance and promote the economic, industrial, commercial, professional, cultural and civic welfare of the Juneau area, Roemmich said.

The controversial Juneau Access project also was brought up a number of times during the debate.

Stone said extending Glacier Highway from Echo Cove is important not only because it's a critical economic issue but also because an isolated capitol sends a negative message to the rest of the state.

Stopha said the project would mean more to him if the road was extended all the way to Skagway instead of the proposed shuttle ferry terminal on the east side of Lynn Canal. If the project goes through as proposed, the city should team up with Haines and Skagway to form a port authority to ensure the shuttle ferries operate in the best interest of the northern Lynn Canal communities, he said.

The extension of the road is a top priority for the chamber, Roemmich said.

"We're the capital city of Alaska and we believe through better access more Alaskans can come to Juneau," she said.

The mayoral candidates will face similar topics when incumbent Bruce Botelho and challenger Brad Fluetsch meet before the chamber for a noontime debate at the Moose Lodge on Sept. 28.