Fmr. Philadelphia DA Lynne Abraham collapses during mayoral debate

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Candidates vying to be the next mayor of Philadelphia were in the process of answering their very first debate topic when everything came to a stop.

Former District Attorney Lynne Abraham collapsed.

It was a scary moment as several people immediately rushed to her aide.

She quickly regained her footing and could be heard saying she was fine.

A chair was brought on stage for the 74-year-old to rest while she drank a glass of water.

Just minutes earlier, Abraham kicked off the debate saying she would not raise property taxes to fund schools.

"It's really regressive and it hurts the people that most need to hold on to their dollars," Abraham said.

She was ultimately taken off stage and checked out by a doctor.

Her campaign says she is 'feeling great,' but she did not return for the remainder of the debate.

The debate continued with candidates Nelson Diaz, Jim Kenney, Doug Oliver, Milton Street, and Senator Anthony Williams.

They weighed in on ways to fund education

"We should look at properties that need to be collected and all of those properties would give us an opportunity to collect another $75 million," Diaz said.

"There are other more creative ways of generating money like keeping the city open past 2:00 a.m. and using the liquor-by-the-drink tax," Doug Oliver said.

"You're never going to fund Philadelphia schools through taxes. That's out. Forget it," Street said.

The other talker was addressing the city's high poverty rate.

Ex-City Councilman Jim Kenney and current state Senator Anthony Hardy Williams agreed a better school system is the answer.

"First rung in the life is not rapping, not dribbling a basketball, not entertaining, but children look to a quality of life provided with an educated experience," Williams said.

"Universal pre-K for all the children 3 and 4 years of age, making our schools community schools again, centers of the community where people go for all types of services not just for education on a daytime basis," Kenney said.

There are more televised debates scheduled before the May 19th Democratic primary race.