Vancouver mayor apolgizes for F-bomb

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 12 (UPI) -- Vancouver, British Columbia, Mayor Gregor Robertson apologized Monday for dropping the F-bomb and insulting members of the public at a city council meeting.

Robertson made the vulgarity-punctuated comments last week after cameras were turned off -- but his microphone was still on and the recording, as is often the case in such matters, hit the Internet in short order, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Robertson, apparently frustrated by sitting through several hours of public comments Thursday about a planned community advisory committee, could be heard to say, "Who are all these (expletive) … who are all these hacks? … We want consultation … . We're just trying to have a little advisory committee for (expletive) sakes … ."

Randy Helton, a member of a neighborhood group, said the mayor's comment "shows quite a lot of disrespect for the citizens."

"It's like bullies in a school or something," Helton said.

Robertson acknowledged his frustration over the meeting dragging on but said his comments were inappropriate and disrespectful.

"Either way, there is no excuse, and I want to express my apologies to the people who came to speak at council," Robertson said in a statement.