How much faith do you put in campaign promises?
Just over six weeks from election day, Londoners are being pitched a wide range of ideas by the candidates running for mayor.
With more than a dozen candidates running residents can expect to hear a lot of promises, pledges, and commitments leading up to election day.
Many point to former London mayor Joe Fontana's tax freeze and 10,000 jobs promises of four years ago.
"That really hurt the level of trust, I think a lot of Londoners are hesitant to re-elect anyone at this point," says one London woman.
So which election promises should voters believe? Western political scientist Andrew Sancton says it all depends.
"We have to think about different kinds of promises."
Sancton advises voters be cautious when promised specific results about job creation and tax rates, since the mayor represents only one vote of 15 on council and municipalities have limited control over the economy.
But there are good promises.
"What candidates can do is say on a particular issue,'I promise to vote this way,' or promise to behave in a certain way.
But a more skeptical public may even reject those kinds of promises this time around.
"Frankly, I don't give any election promises any weight, I've just been burned too many times before," says a London resident.
Sancton says candidates still seem to be looking for that one elusive idea that will galvanize support on election day.
"A combination of an idea that makes sense and can be accomplished at the municipal level, then I think people will pay attention, but that is a very hard thing for any candidate to do," adds Sancton.
Election day is Oct. 27.
