Both frontrunners in the mayor's race held campaign kickoffs Wednesday night.

Although Mayor Larry O'Brien didn't reiterate his ‘Zero means Zero' tax promise, he kicked off his re-election effort by promising to aim for a zero per cent tax increase.

"Let me be very, very clear -- this mayor will never give up on the goal of zero tax raises," O'Brien told supporters at his campaign launch Wednesday night.

While O'Brien failed to make good on his 2006 campaign promise to keep taxes flat, he says getting taxes as low as possible remains his goal.

He would only say that he plans to "push a reset button on the way the city spends money."

O'Brien will explain how he plans to do that when he unveils his fiscal platform on Sept. 12.

Watson criticizes mayor's record

Meanwhile, O'Brien's main rival, Jim Watson, held his own campaign rally Wednesday night, hammering away at O'Brien's record.

Watson says taxpayers can't afford to give O'Brien a second chance after four years of tax increases and transit woes.

"Say no to four more years of pitting one neighbourhood against another, record tax hikes, and cuts to services, the longest bus strike in our city's history," said Watson.

"We need a mayor who will bring in a sensible budget not based on a focus group or a catchy slogan."

Watson unveiled his fiscal plan earlier this week, promising to make cuts to the salaries of the mayor, council, and senior managers to keep tax increases at 2.5 per cent or less.

Like-minded councillors

O'Brien also encouraged voters to elect like-minded councillors, who support the ideas of the person who wins the mayor's chair. He says that's the main reason he couldn't deliver his zero means zero promise.

"It will be alright to identify in certain areas candidates that agree with the mayor on important issues," said O'Brien, pointing to finances, transit and city management as issues that top the list.

O'Brien's other platform points include an independent group to drum up business in the capital, and transforming the way OC Transpo is run -- starting from the top.

He says he'll push for an independent commission to take responsibility for transit.

"The drivers are not the issue. We have to get the governance of OC Transpo right," O'Brien said.

There are currently 16 candidates registered in the race for mayor. Voters head to the polls to cast their ballot Oct. 25.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's John Hua