INDIANAPOLIS -- Starting Wednesday, TV ads in Indianapolis' mayoral race will no longer be a one-candidate affair.

Greg Ballard (pictured, left), the Republican running against two-term incumbent Mayor Bart Peterson (pictured, right), will offer his first TV campaign ad Wednesday, less than a week before Election Day and long after Peterson began running his.

Ballard hadn't been able to afford TV ads until now. But he said Tuesday that he believes he can make a push for victory.

"I find that people are really paying attention right now, so I don't think it's too late at all," Ballard told 6News' Norman Cox. "We've gotten a fair amount of really good press lately. I think people are starting to hear our message."

In his ad, Ballard shares time with fellow Republican Kent Smith, a candidate for City-County Council.

Peterson, a Democrat, will not be neglecting the airwaves in the campaign's final week. He has started running a new TV ad touting an endorsement that The Indianapolis Star gave him.

Mayor Issues Third 'Peterson Plan'

Peterson's campaign on Tuesday issued his latest "Peterson Plan," a list of his intentions for what would be a third term. He had issued other plans during his previous campaigns.

Much of the latest plan is a list of what the mayor says he has accomplished, along with things he'd like other people -- such as state officials -- to do in the way of controlling property taxes, Cox reported.

Among Peterson's new pledges are ones to form an efficiency commission with the business community to help cut government spending, open more charter schools, expand and improve the IndyGo bus system, and focus law enforcement efforts on both violent criminals and crimes such as prostitution that he says affects residents' quality of life.

"We think we can cut into violent crime as well as the kinds of crimes that really impair the quality of life in neighborhoods," Peterson said.

Challenger Accuses Incumbent's Campaign Of Dirty Polling

Supporters of Ballard are accusing Peterson's backers of conducting "push polls" -- telephone surveys in which questions are loaded to make a candidate look bad.

Ballard's campaign said the survey conductors are calling Ballard supporters in hopes of discouraging them from voting for him. The questions are posed in a way that make it appear he holds unflattering stances like wanting to take away senior citizen programs, Ballard's campaign said.

"It's just sad that they do that," Ballard said Tuesday. "But it's probably a sign that we're very close. They know it's a close and tight race."

Peterson said he doesn't know of anyone in his campaign conducting such surveys. His aides declined to comment about the issue.