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Town council members don't support call for mayor's resignation by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff 3 | Thursday, September 3, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com While they may not like what he said, no members of Oakville council are joining the voices calling for Mayor Rob Burton's resignation following his Friday tweet on Twitter, which critics say compared Canadian veterans working as private security on the Conservatives election campaign to the paramilitary forces used by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. The tweet, for which Burton has apologized, was made in response to a Canadian Press article about former members of the Canadian Forces being hired as security guards at Stephen Harper's campaign events in addition to the RCMP officers. "Any political parties had private police using veterans before?" Burton tweeted along with links to Wikipedia pages on Hitler's Brownshirts and Mussolini's Blackshirts. "Any others?" The tweet prompted a Twitter response from Defense Minister Jason Kenney, who characterized the remarks as outrageous and called on Burton to apologize. Burton made this apology on Twitter on Saturday. "I apologize to all vets for my remarks. I regret any impact on their feelings or pride," he wrote. "I celebrate the way they went to fight for freedom." A sign set up in front of Oakville Town Hall on Trafalgar Road calls for Mayor Rob Burton's resignation. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) Burton expanded on this apology in an email to the Oakville Beaver. "My intent was to shine light on the issue of the Conservatives hiring a private security detail and not to upset any of the men and women who have served our country. Veterans deserve the upmost respect for their courage and bravery," said Burton. "I am sorry about my recent remarks, and I apologize without reservation to all those impacted. In particular, I have always had great respect for veterans. I was raised in the military -- my father was a career officer, my uncle a bomber pilot. I truly regret any impact my comments may have had on their excellent reputation." Not everyone is satisfied with this response. Shortly after his tweet #ResignMayorBurton began trending on Twitter in Canada. A petition calling for his resignation on Change.org had 224 supporters as of presstime. "A disgraceful tweet from a disgraceful mayor," Joe Temple of Oakville wrote on the petition page, expressing his opinion. "I'm ashamed to be from Oakville today." Other commenters claimed to be from Burlington and Toronto, but also from Calgary, London, Niagara Falls and Greely, Ont. While several Town councillors were unhappy with Burton's Twitter comments his resignation is not what they are looking for. Ward 1 Town and Regional Councillor Sean O'Meara said he found the mayor's comments extremely regrettable and in no way reflective of what he or the Town of Oakville council believes. O'Meara went on to say that because the people of Oakville elected Burton it is not his place to call for the mayor's resignation. He also noted the Province does not give municipalities any authority force a sitting mayor to resign. Ward 2 Town and Regional Councillor Cathy Duddeck said at the end of the day it is the voters who democratically decide who they feel will best represent them. She said she believes Burton's apology to be sincere, but noted it does raise the issue of elected representatives expressing personal opinions that are of a political nature. "Personally I believe partisan politics has no place at the municipal, provincial or federal table and does nothing to foster good worksee Some on p.10 Great Family DininG For over 40 years! 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