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MESA, AZ -- Although one member who is a veteran of military service denounced his actions, other Mesa City Councilmen are defending colleague Tom Rawles amid a firestorm of controversy over his refusal to say the Pledge of Allegiance before Monday's council meeting.

Council member Scott Somers, a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, said while Rawles has a right to his opinions, a City Council meeting is not the place to protest the Iraq war.

Rawles announced Monday night he will not be standing for or saying the Pledge until either U.S. troops are withdrawn from Iraq or his term in office ends in late 2008.

"I respect his opinion on the war whether I agree with or not," Somers said. "But I don't think having that kind of protest in the Council meeting was an appropriate venue for that. I was very disappointed."

Somers said he might wear his National Defense Ribbon, given to all wartime veterans, to the next Council meeting to show his support for the troops.

That would be fine with Mayor Keno Hawker, who said such expressions in Council chambers are OK as long as they're not disruptive.

"That's Tom's right to exercise his freedom of speech and protest in any manner he wants to do," Hawker said. "I'm not going to step in the way and try to prevent that from happening" at Council meetings.

Rawles, 57, said he tried to join the Air Force in the Vietnam War era but was turned down because he suffers from migraine headaches.

Councilmember Rex Griswold said, "Everybody has a right to freedom of speech whether I agree with somebody or not." But he added Rawles' tactics are "not a personal choice I would take."

Councilmember Kyle Jones said, "It's not the way I would protest the issue because I quite frankly don't believe the two (the Pledge and the war) are related. To me the Pledge of Allegiance is too important" to be used as a vehicle for protest.

Valley radio talk shows and The Republic's online comment forum were sizzling Tuesday with citizen input – much of it heated and some looking for ways to remove Rawles from office.

Rawles told Hawker of his intention before the Monday night's Council meeting but surprised the other five members with an announcement during the pre-meeting study session.

"Although I love my country and respect our flag, this is my way of protesting America's continuing involvement in the civil war in Iraq," he said in a written statement hours before the meeting.

Rawles said he had been thinking about the protest for about five months but wanted to see what President Bush would do with information from the independent Iraq study commission.

Rawles, who represents southwest Mesa's District 3, is a Libertarian, though council seats are non-partisan. He served on the Board of Supervisors from 1993-97, and is a lawyer for Johnson Stewart Company and was Chief of Staff for Congressman John J. Rhodes III from 1987-89.