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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, September 3, 2015 | 10 Some Town councillors make call for less partisan politics continued from p.3 ing relationships between various governments," said Duddeck. "Elected representatives should focus their efforts on the issues they were elected for." Ward 4 Town and Regional Councillor Allan Elgar called Burton's online comments unfortunate and said he strongly disagrees with them. He is hopeful Burton will be more careful with his social media comments in the future. Elgar noted any resignation would have to be a personal decision on Burton's part. Ward 4 Town Councillor Roger Lapworth said everyone makes mistakes, some greater than others. Time to move on: Lapworth He argued the mayor has apologized and removed his comments from Twitter and now is the time to move on with the business of the town. Ward 2 Town Councillor and OakvilleNorth Burlington Liberal Candidate Pam Damoff said she does not agree with Burton's comments and noted Rob Burton speaks for himself. "That was not my opinion, that's not council's opinion and that was certainly not my opinion as a Liberal candidate," she said. "It was the residents of Oakville who elected him and they are the ones who need to decide whether he resigns or not. There are no tools in the municipal act that can require a sitting mayor to resign." Ward 5 Town and Regional Councillor Jeff Knoll said he believes Burton has been and continues to be a good mayor. Knoll noted he believes Burton's apology was genuine and said he will continue to support him. "I have witnessed his support of veterans in our community and know that he has a deep and abiding respect for them," said Knoll. "In reading the original tweet and the follow up, I believe that his comments were not meant to offend or otherwise diminish veterans or our military, but were intended to be his opinion on a story about the Prime Minister and his campaign." Leave federal election to federal politicians: Knoll Knoll said municipal politicians, especially mayors, should be careful about being overtly partisan as they have to work with whomever gets elected for the good of their communities. He said he hopes in the future, Burton will leave the federal election to the federal politicians. "I believe leaders should be judged based on a culmination of their track record and results and not on the basis of an ill-thought-out, 140-character tweet," said Knoll. "Rob Burton's track record and political career have demonstrated that he is a capable leader and has achieved great things for our town and region. I would like to see him, in an act of public contrition, issue an apology to everyone, in- He should have thought before he opened his mouth. (Mayor Rob Burton) has alienated, not only me, but every veteran in this country. past-president of Bronte Legion Branch 486 Gene Reed cluding the Prime Minister, for the tweet, but I absolutely do not believe he should resign." Ward 5 Councillor Marc Grant said that if Canadians were to recall every politician who did something offensive in a public, Canada would be stuck in an endless election cycle. "I would hope that reasonable people would realize that the mayor's message was more about a Canadian government that is building a thicker wall between itself, the media and the public," said Grant. "I don't believe there is a human being out there who thinks Rob Burton is sitting in front of a Veterans Affair Magazine drawing little Swastikas on people. He is not that kind of person." Ward 6 Town and Regional Councillor Tom Adams and Ward 6 Town Councillor Natalia Lishchyna said they are satisfied with the mayor's apology. Adams characterized calls for Burton's resignation as an outlandish position to take on the matter, noting he believed such a decision and the following by-election to elect a new mayor would be disruptive to the community. He noted other mayors in the GTA have done far worse and did not resign. Lishchyna joined other councillors in calling for less partisan politics in municipal public commentary in the future. Ward 1 Town Councillor Ralph Robinson and Ward 3 Town Councillor Nicholas Hutchins called the mayor's comments unfortunate, but neither called for the mayor's resignation. Ward 3 Town Councillor Dave Gittings could not be reached for comment. Comments inexcusable: navy veteran At the Bronte Legion Branch 486, Past President Gene Reed, 75, was less forgiving than many of Burton's colleagues. The Royal Canadian Navy veteran, whose service included duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis, said he believes Burton's comments were inexcusable. "He should have thought before he opened his mouth," said Reed, adding he thinks Burton "has alienated, not only me, but every veteran in this country." Reed said Burton's apology has done little to ease his anger. Oakville Chamber of Commerce President John Sawyer voiced concerns about Oakville being in the headlines for all the wrong reasons because of the incident. "We're always concerned about Oakville's reputation and brand. This is not the kind of profile we would like to see, but over time I do think it will blow over," he said. Montreal-Style Bagels in Mississauga THE BAGEL HOUSE Reduce Reuse Recycle Extend YOUR 235 Lakeshore Rd., E. Miss. 5 Great Great Locations to Serve You in the GTA Buy 1/2 doz bagels and get 1/2 doz FREE. 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