OTTAWA — Mayor Larry O’Brien Monday apologized to Ottawa residents for being such a disaster in his first two years, and pleaded for a second chance, saying he has learned from his mistakes.

In an unprecedented mea culpa, O’Brien told the Citizen editorial board that while he can’t say he is the worst mayor ever — because he doesn’t know all of them and their records, he said — he was “pretty bad” in his first two years. For that, he is very sorry.

“People believe and recognize that the first two years of my mayoralty were a complete — and quite frankly, self-diagnosed as a complete — disaster. I probably made every single major political mistake that was possible. … I think I even made quite a few mistakes that, quite frankly, were impossible to replicate,” he said. “I just want to tell the citizens of Ottawa that I am sincerely sorry for the first two years. I completely regret some of my decisions and some of my actions.”

O’Brien, however, said he has learned a lot from his failures, and would make a good mayor if Ottawa residents renew their faith in him.

“I am going to be asking them on a very personal level to give me a chance, to believe in me again. I am a changed man. The old Larry is gone, probably never to come back again — and probably a good thing,” he said.

“I say to them, ‘The next four years won’t be a replica of the first four years.’ We are going to get things done. We are going to move forward,” O’Brien said.

The mayoral incumbent appeared before the editorial board to answer questions and articulate his vision. He spoke about his desire to make Ottawa an important part of the new economy, by thinking big about the future and not shying away from big projects that define a city. Light rail, a ring road and Sparks Street renewal, big projects he’s championed or proposed during the campaign, all fit into that vision, though he is not asking that these projects be undertaken in the next four years.

All he wants is to get a ring road back into the city’s official plan, and make Sparks a city priority, he said. O’Brien also made it clear that he is not promising a zero tax increase.

“I’ve never committed during this campaign to achieve zero. I’ve been very careful and straight on that,” he said.

O’Brien said his commitment is that he would present a draft budget to council with a “zero spending increase,” for a final decision by council after a public debate. Councillors can add spending if they want, he said, but they’ll do it in the full light of day.

But it was his apology that stood out because it was the first time the mayor, perhaps any mayor, has acknowledged publicly that he did a terrible job in an office he is still seeking. O’Brien, who was first elected four years ago, has been criticized widely for not having a clue when came into office, and particularly for breaking his promise not to increase taxes in his first term. But he has always vigorously defended himself, often laying the blame on councillors and on the political and bureaucratic culture at city hall.